News media uneasy about relationship with Donald Trump

A meeting between president-elect Donald Trump and representatives of the network news was said to be a “total disaster” by one source in the room. Trump echoed sentiments from his campaign calling the media liars, full of deceit and dishonesty. There was little substantive discussion of access to the Trump administration. (New York  Post, November 21, 2016, by Emily Smith and Daniel Halper)

In the meantime, Hadas Gold and Peter Sterne, Politico, November 17, 2016, reported that a week after the election, Trump was still locking out the press. A group of reporters and photographers sit all day in a holding area for the press with no signs that Trump will set up a pool admitted to the administration’s daily activities.

David M. Rubin, Syracuse.com, November 17, 2016, addresses key aspects of free speech and press speculating about how how the country might fare under Trump. Given available clues, Rubin was pessimistic about freedom of information, access, treatment of those leaking national security information, and the use of subpoenas to get the identities of journalists’ sources. He was more upbeat about the likelihood of regular press conferences and the chances Trump could make good on his threats to change libel law to facilitate suing journalists.

Emily Bazelon, The New York Times Magazine, November 22, 2016, takes a closer look at the problem of defending the free press against unfavorable changes in libel laws concluding that wealthy individuals including the president-elect bring libel suit after libel suit with little regard to the expense. The press is vulnerable given declining revenues and low public mistrust. Since 2010 the press has lost ground in getting courts to dismiss libel suits before trial. Bazelon thinks Times v. Sullivan will survive, but Trump could appoint judges hostile to reporters, aggressively pursue journalist about leaks and limit access to information from government agencies.