How Trump is challenging the media to redefine its role
| Washington
In a month鈥檚 worth of tweets from President Trump, perhaps none has packed more punch than his that the 鈥淔AKE NEWS media ... is the enemy of the American People!鈥�
The expression 鈥渆nemy of the people鈥� carries dark echoes of history, dating back to Roman times. The most brutal regimes of the 20th century invoked the phrase in sending millions to die.
For Mr. Trump, the use of such inflammatory language is clearly metaphorical. But in upping the rhetorical ante in his longstanding attacks on the Fourth Estate 鈥� specifically, as he said in his Friday tweet, the 鈥渇ailing鈥� New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN 鈥� Trump is playing a game with potentially far-reaching consequences.
Public trust in media is at an all-time low, ; reporters face a level of hostility from an administration not seen since President Nixon.
How the media work through this challenge will affect not only how this insurgent presidency is portrayed, but also how the American public sees the role of the press 鈥� as a biased meddler or an essential pillar of American democracy.
But it鈥檚 not all bad news for the media.
鈥淚n fact, contrary to the prevailing orthodoxy, Donald Trump is not the man who will kill the mainstream media. He is the man who could save it,鈥� , media editor at the BBC.
Paid subscriptions to news outlets have jumped during the Trump presidency. The New York Times reports 鈥� 276,000 in the fourth quarter of 2016, the single best quarter since 2011, when its pay model launched.
Donations have spiked to the nonprofit investigative outfit ProPublica and to liberal standard-bearer Mother Jones. Online-only outlets have seen a surge in Web traffic, boosting ad revenue. CNN, perhaps the cable channel most reviled by Trump, 2016 was its best year for viewership.
How Trump has caused the media to overheat
Trump, the one-time reality TV star, clearly relishes performing for the cameras 鈥� including when sparring with reporters. He said as much in his pugilistic tour de force of a press conference last week.
鈥淚 sort of enjoy this back and forth, and I guess I have all my life,鈥� Trump mused, before tossing in another dig at the press. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e never seen more dishonest media than, frankly, the political media.鈥�
Before becoming president, Trump was famous for answering his own phone; back in the 1970s, 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s, he even posed at times .
As president, he has in some ways been more available to the media than his predecessor, frequently coming to the back of Air Force One to talk to the reporters traveling with him. At other times, he flouts convention by attending a public event " 鈥� a rotating group of journalists who cover the president's daily activities.
Some of Trump鈥檚 media habits might be amusing if they didn鈥檛 involve the serious business of the presidency. Add to the mix his un-joking expressions of hatred toward the press, beginning early in his campaign, that raised the possibility of violence against reporters.
But even as he toys with journalists, his ultimate intent is clear: to use them as a foil by setting them up as 鈥渢he opposition party.鈥�
His declaration last Friday that certain major media outlets are 鈥渢he enemy of the American people鈥� was the logical conclusion of a long rhetorical escalation. Some media watchers have urged the press to focus on his actions, not his words. But with Trump, who recognizes the power of language, that鈥檚 not necessarily the best approach.
鈥淒on't over-react or rage at every Tweet: good advice,鈥� Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, . 鈥淧ay attention to what he does, not what he says: dumb advice. Often, words are deeds.鈥�
Standing up for media's role in a free society
For some in public life, Trump鈥檚 鈥渆nemy鈥� tweet was a bridge too far. Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, who has emerged as one of Trump鈥檚 most vocal critics within the Republican Party, said on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� that such talk is 鈥渉ow dictators get started.鈥�
鈥淚n other words, a consolidation of power,鈥� McCain elaborated. 鈥淲hen you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history.鈥�
Such a cautionary note may seem over the top. But across the media landscape, Trump鈥檚 attacks are being treated with dead seriousness. Conservative columnist Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal calls Trump鈥檚 approach to the media and to facts 鈥溾�� 鈥� by effectively asserting that facts don鈥檛 matter.
How media can better tackle Trump's hostility
Reporters, too, are tackling Trump鈥檚 hostility head on. Some are trying to soften him up. 鈥淛ust for the record, we don't hate you. I don't hate you,鈥� CNN鈥檚 Jim Acosta, embroiled in a longstanding feud with Trump, told him at last Thursday鈥檚 press conference.
Others are standing by their journalistic brethren with the hashtag #NotTheEnemy, highlighting the important work reporters do in holding officials accountable, bringing injustice to light, and covering wars, at times losing their life.
Linguist George Lakoff appreciates journalists鈥� effort to defend themselves, but says they鈥檙e going about it in the wrong way. By putting the word 鈥渆nemy鈥� in the hashtag, they鈥檙e reinforcing the very concept that Trump is promoting 鈥� and thus, they are unwittingly helping Trump make his point.
It鈥檚 all about the 鈥渇rame鈥� 鈥� the way a subject is characterized, of the University of California, Berkeley, on his blog. 鈥淎void the language of the attacker,鈥� he writes, 鈥渂ecause it evokes their frame and helps make their case.鈥�
