Seven ways to restore our press freedoms before we end up with another authoritarian dictator

[turbinetree]

Written By SemDem and Daily Kos February 07, 2021

Donald Trump's time in office was defined by death, destruction, disarray, and multiple attacks on democracy. Yet we must never forget that Trump's legacy also includes an evil milestone, reached in 2018, when the United States, for the first time ever, ranked among the top five deadliest countries for journalists. For context, other "top" nations were Afghanistan, Syria, Mexico, India, and Yemen. This was the same year that Trump first called the press "the enemy of the people."

Though 2020 and the Trump administration are in our rearview mirror, the situation has gotten even more dire. Disturbingly, the number of journalists killed worldwide in 2020 doubled from 2019. We have to remember that a free press was viewed as so important to our foundational democracy, it was the only profession the Founding Fathers named in our Constitution. It's the best, last hope against tyranny, which is exactly why authoritarians hate it so much. Trump's purposeful attacks on the media not only encouraged violence against journalists in this country, but gave regimes elsewhere a blueprint to crack down on their own press. Dictators, from Bashir-Al Assad to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, used the Trumpian term "fake news" to justify their own violent attacks on journalists who attempted to hold them accountable. The junta in Myanmar is using a similar argument to justify shutting down internet access amidst a coup.

There were so many abuses of power the past few years, Trump's attacks against the media became background noise. After his failed presidency came to its end, CNN tried to chronicle Trump's most egregious acts, and his attacks on the press didn't even warrant a mention. Although Trump left many messes that need to be cleaned up, our First Amendment protections must be given a high priority. Fortunately, there's plenty of things that President Joe Biden, and everyone, can do to help to strengthen those protections. It's vital for the next time we face an authoritarian leader who may have a shred more competence than Trump.

https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/trump-wants-to-be-a-dictator/

-snip-

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced a bill last year, calling for $20 million to fund media literacy education. Even without legislation, teachers can incorporate media literacy concepts into existing classes, like my teachers did so long ago. There are many resources to serve that goal. I never knew, before middle school, that bias even existed in newspapers or T.V. Now it's painfully obvious. I only wish many of my friends and co-workers had been in that class with me.

Everything I've outlined here will require a commitment—from the government, from schools, from tech companies, and yes, from regular citizens. Yet it's a commitment worth making. There are many powerful people who don't want a free and fair press; we must be as dedicated to protecting it as they are with destroying it.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. "Fight Misinformation Online"? Really?

Here's a start for journalism organizations.
Quit reporting social media posts as news.
When T%+&p tweeted something, they could have described the gist, referred to it as inflammatory, then provided an analysis of why it was absurd. Instead, they showed the tweet itself which added gravity to it.
They CONTRIBUTED to the misinformation by repeating it first.
Example from the article: :T%p tweeted a ridiculous statement. Journalists are nobody's enemy."
Rather than displaying the ridiculous tweet for all to see.
It's called editing. They should look into it as they do this navel gazing.

[meadowlander]

2. We have plenty of "press freedom". What we need is "press accountability"

and incentives for real, professional journalism in the public interest.

The problem is no consequences for lying to audiences and a whole generation of "journalists" and "news folk" who publish/air any old schlock that they think will get ratings without considering its truthfulness, lack of bias or merit.

[abqtommy]

3. K&R