Of Trump, Tweets and Tabloid?

Michael Hart, Host, The Michael Hart ShowRecently, the Twitter-enamored President, Donald Trump, put the American News Media on high alert with his Tweet: "I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!"As a member of the press and someone that has been covering the President since he announced his candidacy, I find this Tweet quite amusing. That's not to suggest the President does not have a somewhat valid point, but rather it's his lack of understanding of the history of the relationship between the White House and the media.In the early days of the United States there was no official office to deal with the press. Often reporters “ambushed” officials, including the President, while traveling to work, in hallways, wherever they could gain access. To sell papers, and of course that was the only media in those days, reporters frequently embellished or revised the facts to make their reporting as sensational as possible. You might call that 19th century fake news. Moreover fact checking was not only uncommon it was thought a distraction by many in that day. Our history books are full of inaccuracies compliments of a press sometimes unconcerned with the truth.Knowing that some in the media would employ these strategies during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency one of his aides, George Cortelyou, began issuing presidential press releases for the first time. Roosevelt finally gave the press dedicated space in the White House, but the first person to officially hold the White House Press Secretary title wasn't until 1929 during the Herbert Hoover administration.But these men were not the only ones to have contempt for what they felt an intrusive news media. Almost every President in history has had their frustrations. For example in 1807 Thomas Jefferson opined, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle” And in more recent years, Nixon was heard to say to Henry Kissinger; “The press is the enemy, the press is the enemy.”But as we learn from history, the increasingly aggressive response to what is thought to be unfair press coverage of any administration has merely kept pace with the efficiency with which news is acquired and distributed. And although attacks on the media by Presidents had leveled out for many years, the age of the internet, with it's myriad of bloggers, online news portals and platforms on which to deliver the news, seems to have encouraged recent administrations to respond accordingly.And although not as flagrant as Trumpian style, recent administrations have also, attempted to quell the opposition noise. During the Obama administration, there was a failed attempt to introduce a pilot program called the “Critical Information Needs Study”. Under this plan broadcast news outlets would be required to “host” official monitors that would have to approve certain news stories which might not be complimentary to the White House and others political leaders. The plan was met with outrage from the press, the fifth estate obviously screaming a First Amendment violation. But the CIN idea does highlight the frustration of the national political machine with a press they consider invasive and lacking integrity. Consider the irony of that concern.Do centuries of accusations of unfair reporting by the White House mean the media lacks the integrity to get the facts straight? Certainly not. Most outlets do their level best considering the often prepackaged narrative they are given by the White House Press Secretary's office. And in fact it is often these claims of “fake news” by politicians that force their hand to be more forthcoming and open with the American people. Do people in the press sometimes report titillating or provocative news items, ones that demand further exploration or explanation or even default to making seemingly outlandish claims? Most assuredly. But in this sometimes dysfunctional relationship between the Press and the President is that really that unusual?I suppose we will find out Monday at 5 when “THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR" are revealed. [author]About the Author: Michael Hart is political talk radio commentator, author, historian and speaker. His program The Michael Hart Show airs daily in several Southeastern US markets. He is also the author of UNKNOWN AMERICA, “Myths and little known oddities about the greatest nation on earth”.[/author]