From Press Blacklist to Journalism Enemies List

[ancianita]

Here in the United States, we're not quite up to jailing journalists. But we are placing them under surveillance. And in the latest free speech chilling news emerging from the Trump administration, the White House is building an "ENEMIES" list filled with journalists.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Judd Deere accused The Washington Post of "blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization" and demanded "it must stop."

"Please be advised that we are building up a very large 'dossier' on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people," Deere said.

The White House -- which should be fully separated from Trump's personal business ventures (as Trump promised to do shortly after being elected) -- is targeting journalists for digging into the Trump Organization and its federal "guests." It's not a jailing but it's a still a threat -- one that seems completely out of place in the Land of the Free where speaking about political issues is at the top of the list of things protected by the First Amendment.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200828/20403445204/tinpot-administration-is-apparently-building-dossiers-journalists-who-criticize-trump.shtml?fbclid=IwAR29u4vgjINYV2dScoSFuWo8MHM3cxzzVuxXFHWgYt8wyEBk8HwO4-g_rAo



The New York Times gave the public a headsup about the dossier over a year ago.

... Four people familiar with the operation described how it works, asserting that it has compiled dossiers of potentially embarrassing social media posts and other public statements by hundreds of people who work at some of the country’s most prominent news organizations.

The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated Mr. Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects.

Operatives have closely examined more than a decade’s worth of public posts and statements by journalists, the people familiar with the operation said. Only a fraction of what the network claims to have uncovered has been made public, the people said, with more to be disclosed as the 2020 election heats up. The research is said to extend to members of journalists’ families who are active in politics, as well as liberal activists and other political opponents of the president.

[MerryBlooms]

1. R&K

[I_UndergroundPanther]

2. The journaliats

Admit to whatever wrongdoing trump digs up
Apologize than move on.

Don't let trump use whatever shame his dossier garner's to silence the media.

Get ahead of the accusations especially awkward posts, admit it aplogize for it publically and move on.

Don't let his bullshit accusations grow legs.
And dominate the news cycle.

Apologizing is something trump never does.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Nixon had an enemies list, too.

Some people were disappointed that they weren't on it, since they considered being on the list to be a badge of honor. Same should be true today. Nixon's media "enemies" included Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward, Dan Rather, the Washington Post and the New York Times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_list_of_Nixon%27s_political_opponents

[ancianita]

4. Yes. And being on that list was a badge of honor.

And while any journalists today can consider this dossier a badge of Trump's insecurity, there's still the violence of the thin blue line between militias and police.

This might validate the reasons why journalists upgrade their sources and documentation.