This weekend, the nation’s capital will host the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was once affectionately known as “nerd prom” and was meant to honor the Fourth Estate that is supposed to defend free speech, inform the American public, and hold the powerful accountable.
To quote Hemingway, “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”
Unfortunately, like so many institutions over the past decade, corporate media has decided to bend the knee to placate Trump’s fickle, insatiable ego and win over his MAGA base that will never love them and still sees them as “the enemy of the people.” Shamefully, the WHCA decided to cancel their comedian, Amber Ruffin, after MAGA’s performative outrage and is planning to “re-envision” the dinner during a “consequential moment of journalism.” That’s a lot of mealy-mouthed bullshit for “We caved to Trump.”
Speaking of caving, CBS might be bending the knee to Trump, who initiated a pathetic 10 billion dollar lawsuit against the company because he disliked how a critical 60 Minutes segment was edited. Producer Bill Owens, who was only the third person to run the show in its 57-year history, told his staff that he is choosing to resign from 60 Minutes because of editorial interference and lack of independence. If 60 Minutes - the heralded institution of television journalism - is losing its spine, then that’s a terrible omen for the future of American news and media.
Meanwhile, The New York Times has joined the chorus of Reeks and decided to sanitize Trump’s chaotic and reckless second Administration. This was the headline they chose to report on the ongoing Signal Gate controversy.
If anyone in the comments section can please point out when the Trump Administration, whether now or in its first term, was ever “disciplined,” I’d love to know.
One journalist who always stepped up to Trump, asked uncomfortable questions with follow-ups, and kept pressing him was former CNN correspondent and host Jim Acosta. For simply doing his job, MAGA smeared him, promoted fake, altered video clips of him assaulting an intern, and initially denied him his press badge. Thankfully, he persisted and is now flourishing with The Jim Acosta Show on Substack.
In this Chai Talk, we talk about how the media must evolve and adapt to the Trump Administration’s blatant disregard for truth and grow a spine to inform the public and defend democracy.
Give us a watch!
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