On March 21st, Washington Post editor Marty Baron spoke to Penn State students about Donald Trump as president, and how he is impacting journalists, as well as the news industry at large. In Baron’s speech, he discussed that Trump has held briefings in which he has refused to allow news sources such as CNN, the BBC, the New York Times, and others, to sit in and report on the happenings at said briefings. Two points of violation of ethics in journalism that Baron addressed during his lecture were invasion of privacy and deception.
Invasion of privacy in the news industry can be seen as a number of things, including following a person’s private life without their consent, stalking, seeking out private information, etc. Trump banned certain news sources from sitting in on his briefings, because he believed that sitting in would be an invasion of his privacy, knowing they would not be reporting things he wants the public to know.
Deception can be seen in his refusal to allow all news sources into his briefings; by only allowing certain reporters to sit in on his briefings, he is controlling the viewpoint that is being reported, thus deceiving the public. By only offering one point of view that condones Trump, the public is getting a biased report, and will not be fully-informed.
Trump believing that allowing the more-liberal news sources to witness and report on his briefing was an invasion of his privacy is just nonsensical. Being a politician, he should be aware of and accept the fact that not everyone will agree with his decisions, and that that is just a fact of politics.
According to Roy S. Gutterman, author of The Press and Rights to Privacy: The First Amendment Freedoms vs. Invasion of Privacy Claims, the Supreme Court will support the First Amendment in most cases:
If the cases show anything, especially when the press is involved, it is the difficulty of weighing such complex competing interests. The victim in Florida Star made a sympathetic and compelling case. She was viciously attacked by a criminal and violated again when the press published her identity. The Supreme Court, though, also viewed the First Amendment impact here, affording the newspaper-and others-the right to publish lawfully obtained truthful information (Gutterman, 2014).
Freedom of speech takes priority over someone feeling like their privacy is being infringed upon, and there should not be any exceptions made for Trump. He is impeding on the rights of journalists, and our constitution does not support that.
The people of the United States have a right to know what happens with our government, and Trump cannot dictate what information the citizens are getting, even if he feels that his privacy is being invaded. By refusing to allow certain news sources to report on him, he is not only restricting information that citizens are receiving, he is deceiving the public, and maintaining that the information being dispersed is biased, in his favor.
Baron addressed the bias Trump is creating, too, during his speech. He said that by restricting certain news sources from reporting on his doings, the public is only getting one point of view while reading news stories, thus creating a biased outlook.
It is unfair to select only sources that will report positive things about onseself. According to Barbara K. Kaye and Thomas J. Johnson, co-authors of Across the Great Divide: How Partisanship and Perceptions of Media Bias Influence Changes in Time Spent with Media, many types of biases exist within the journalistic field, and these biases affect who and what is being reported, and the information being absorbed by readers:
There are four types of media bias: 1) gatekeeper bias, when reporters and editors allow their ideological bias to influence their decision about what issues to cover and what stories to feature; 2) coverage bias, when one side of an issue receives more attention than the other; 3) statement bias, presenting an issue unfairly; and 4) perceptual bias, when individuals perceive that media coverage either runs against or favors their interests (Kaye and Johnson, 2012).
Trump’s refusal of the more-liberal news sources to cover his briefing is an example of coverage bias. He allowed for coverage bias by ensuring that the only reporters were conservative, and would provide the public with a positive reflection of his work as president. He completely disregarded a liberal viewpoint on this topic, because he knows that most liberal sources and readers do not agree with his doings. This is unfair to the public, as he is restricting information being consumed by the public.
I believe that the news industry needs to take a stand against Trump and follow him under a microscope; report anything and everything he does, to keep the public informed on his presidency. It is unfair that he tries to withhold information from the public, and we should not allow for that.
Trump’s news restrictions are a complete violation of journalists’ First Amendment rights, and no one should allow for their rights to be taken away like that. “We should not [keep our mouths shut] especially on orders from the white house. […] A press that would speak up, and in speaking up, would contribute to our governance. […] The press will keep close watch on our government,” said Baron, and I completely agree. Reporters need to continue to expose Trump for all that he is.
References
Gutterman, R. S. (2014). Book Review: The Press and Rights to Privacy: The First Amendment Freedoms vs. Invasion of Privacy Claims, by Erin K. CoyleThe Press and Rights to Privacy: The First Amendment Freedoms vs. Invasion of Privacy Claims. CoyleErin K.El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2012. 219 pp. $67 hbk. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91(2), 398-400. doi:10.1177/1077699014531200
Kaye, B. K., & Johnson, T. J. (2016). Across the Great Divide: How Partisanship and Perceptions of Media Bias Influence Changes in Time Spent with Media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60(4), 604-623. doi:10.1080/08838151.2016.1234477