OPINION: Is Trump set to redefine how press & presidency engage?
One probable outcome of the Donald Trump administration already seems clear: it’s likely to redefine the relationship between the press and the U.S. presidency.
Tweet by tweet, candidate and President-elect Trump has been building his own direct connection to the nation’s voters. He’s a master at using the media as a foil, mocking it as failing, inaccurate and out of touch. To Trump, reporters are both a conduit and a prop. It’s no accident they were penned up on the floor of his rallies like zoo exhibits.
For mainstream media organizations, this treatment represents a threat and an opportunity. They’re under tremendous business stress as Facebook and Google take away their old advertising dollars. But Trump is a huge, important subject. He brings in a flood of clicks and viewers. His policy proposals — build a wall, ban Muslim entry, bring back waterboards — would change America’s essence. To many journalists he’s a reminder of why they’re journalists in the first place.