The 'bad guys': President trying to make the press the whipping boy

President Donald Trump is blaming the press for much of the problems of his administration.

That is nothing new. Politicians everywhere tend to be critical of those news outlets that report on their actions. But the scale on which the new president is attacking the media is remarkable. On Thursday, he referred to "fake news" being reported by what he called "dishonest" reporters.

What is sad is that many Americans believe what he is saying. They also perceive the press as the enemy, when in fact the media is simply trying to do its job, which is to ask hard questions of people in power in order to hold them accountable for their actions. That has been the case since the country was founded.

There is a reason that the press is given an open hand in our country. It is because the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution feared the type of government that operated behind closed doors. They believed that the public has the right to know what is going on in the halls of power.

From local governments to the statehouse to the White House, people in positions of power often blame those who report on their activities as the "bad guys." They like to do the public's work in private in order to avoid criticism. There is a reason that freedom of the press is included in the First Amendment. If you want to live in a country where the press is under the control of those in power, try Russia or China, where no questions are asked, or answered.

Published in Editorials on February 17, 2017 9:50 AM