海角大神

Which statement best describes the daily White House briefings in the age of coronavirus?

(A) They are fact-based and analytical; (B) They convey questionable or even false information; (C) They are vital to the public interest; (D) They are opportunities for grandstanding; or (E) All of the above.

The answer is (E). Praise and blame for this daily stew of essential public service and political reality TV sit at the feet of both President Donald Trump and the reporters asking him questions.聽

The ethics here are profound. Lives are on the line, and everyone involved plays an important role 鈥� the president and his team, journalists, and ultimately, the public, which must follow safe practices and figure out fact from fiction.

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.

鈥淓verybody has a responsibility here,鈥� says Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.聽

The fact that President Trump is up for reelection, with Election Day just seven months away, only adds to the drama.

Within the media, debate is swirling around whether cable networks should televise Mr. Trump鈥檚 briefings live. These daily sessions are often long 鈥� well over an hour 鈥� and contain a mix of valuable information, particularly from the scientists on the White House鈥檚 coronavirus task force, and diversions that can include unproductive exchanges between Mr. Trump and antagonists in the press corps.

The news that Anthony Fauci, the nation鈥檚 top infectious disease expert and a member of the task force, now needs a reinforces the central role of information in this crisis. Dr. Fauci, known to correct Mr. Trump at times in public, has both fervent admirers and critics. And there鈥檚 no doubt that when Dr. Fauci speaks at briefings, people pay attention.

CNN and MSNBC, which lean liberal, have taken to showing only parts of the briefing live, cutting away when it is deemed to be off-topic. On Wednesday, CNN skipped the first portion when Mr. Trump opened by touting an 鈥渆nhanced counter-narcotics operation,鈥� a phalanx of military advisers flanking him at the podium.聽

Some would call the decision to highlight a tangential topic 鈥渟hameless,鈥� CNN anchor John King said. 鈥淭his is a coronavirus task force briefing.鈥澛�

After the narcotics discussion ended, and the actual coronavirus briefing started, with the usual cast at Mr. Trump鈥檚 side 鈥� including Drs. Fauci and Deborah Birx 鈥� CNN showed the briefing live.聽

The network did the same the day before, declining to show the president鈥檚 opening remarks, then going live with the experts. On that day, Mr. Trump had highlighted, with a notably somber tone, projections of between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths from the virus in the United States.聽

The decision to skip the president鈥檚 opening remarks on Tuesday seemed 鈥渁 little petty,鈥� says Kelly McBride, chair of the Center for Ethics and Leadership at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.聽

But she understands the hesitation over giving the president unlimited air time, and suggests an alternative, including transparency with viewers.聽

鈥淵ou can summarize the entire press conference and edit it down to key points,鈥� Ms. McBride says. 鈥淵ou certainly have the prerogative to run the whole thing. And if you鈥檙e going to run a portion of it live, you have to tell your audience why you think that portion live is more important than any of the other portions live.鈥澛�

A love-hate relationship聽

Some media critics have pleaded for TV networks to stop running the president鈥檚 briefings altogether. They are, in effect, a substitute for the campaign rallies he can no longer hold, and contain exaggerations and lies, Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post. Examples: The president argued that tests for the virus were readily available when they weren鈥檛. Ditto a nationwide website that Google would roll out 鈥渧ery quickly,鈥� which it hasn鈥檛.聽

Jack Shafer, Politico鈥檚 senior media writer, has a different take. The effort to suppress attention to the briefings reflects a 鈥減aternalistic mindset鈥� toward the public, he And besides, it won鈥檛 work. Trump-friendly Fox News will keep showing the briefings, as does C-SPAN. Live streams are all over the web.聽

The backstory to Mr. Trump鈥檚 dealings with the media is crucial to understanding the current state of play. More than a year ago, the Trump White House stopped holding daily press briefings. Disdain for the press corps was palpable. Mr. Trump pivoted instead to 鈥渃hopper talk鈥� gaggles with reporters as he headed to Marine One for trips out of town, or visits with the press corps on Air Force One.

These regular interactions reinforced the notion that Mr. Trump sees himself as his own best press secretary, going back to his days as a real estate developer who would call reporters under to advocate for himself.聽

Mr. Trump has long had a love-hate relationship with the press. He hates being confronted, but he loves the attention media bring. These conflicting impulses have come to the fore amid the COVID-19 crisis, and are most evident in the daily press conferences.聽

鈥淵ou see a little bit of everything in these briefings,鈥� says William Jacobson, a law professor at Cornell University and conservative .

鈥淵ou see straightforward information, you see the science, you see Trump as he describes himself, as the cheerleader for the nation,鈥� Professor Jacobson says. 鈥淵ou also see his interaction with the media.鈥�

He agrees Mr. Trump loves the attention, but he also sees reporters looking for 鈥渢hat sound bite, that gotcha moment.鈥� The president is smart enough to sense it and doesn鈥檛 want to give it to them, Mr. Jacobson says.聽

Confrontation vs. information

One of Mr. Trump鈥檚 biggest antagonists is CNN鈥檚 Jim Acosta, whose White House press credential was revoked temporarily in 2018 after he refused to relinquish the microphone at a press conference. At Monday鈥檚 press briefing, Mr. Trump called on Mr. Acosta with a 鈥渉ere we go.鈥� The CNN reporter read a series of statements by Mr. Trump, going back several weeks, that seemed to play down the severity of the looming crisis 鈥撀爏uch as 鈥渏ust stay calm, it will all go away.鈥澛�

Mr. Trump insisted all the statements were true, then attacked CNN. The exchange was highly predictable, and didn鈥檛 elicit any new information. It also furthered Mr. Trump鈥檚 longstanding claim that the media are out to get him.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure we need members of the media trying to provoke confrontation when the nation needs calm and information,鈥� says Jeffrey McCall, a professor of communication at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need reporters seeking a 鈥榤oment鈥� to stand out.鈥�

Still, he says, journalists at the briefings are doing a fine job, and serving effectively as surrogates for the public.

鈥淭he problem is that these become rhetorical-slash-theatrical events,鈥� Professor McCall says. 鈥淲e do see some grandstanding from Trump, but that鈥檚 his nature. He got elected by being outspoken and by being grandiose.鈥�

Ultimately, says Ms. Culver, the media ethicist at the University of Wisconsin, it鈥檚 a critically important time for TV networks to be exercising their editorial judgment. And it鈥檚 a time for journalists to show their mettle in serving the public interest.

鈥淎re we as citizens getting what we need from these briefings when they鈥檙e displayed live,鈥� she asks, 鈥渁s opposed to journalists performing the function they鈥檙e supposed to perform, which is to verify and fact-check information before it鈥檚 shared?鈥�

In the end, Ms. Culver notes, everyone 鈥� the president, the press, the public 鈥� shares the same goal: to act individually and collectively to maximize the survival rate amid the biggest viral threat facing the planet in more than a century.

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.