By Jeffrey Cahn
Alicia Abelson came to American University in 2014 with the hopes of becoming a sports journalist, where she could produce play-by-play and color commentating.
She took a minor in political science, inspired by her decision to go to school in Washington, D.C. Now, she aspires to become a White House correspondent.
“It makes me disappointed that there is someone who is an influential figure in the White House who is persuading and swaying the public’s view of reputable news sources, ” Alicia Abelson, 21, a senior, said about President Donald Trump.
Abelson, from Northford, Conn., is one of many students studying journalism at a time when there is constant harassment of reporters and the field from the administration. Professors and students interviewed this month said they feel a renewed commitment to the craft as their roles are being brought into question.
“We have found ourselves doubling-down even more on the traditions, values and the ethics of objective journalism as we know it,” said Amy Eisman said, who heads the journalism division at American University’s School of Communication.
Nearly once a week Trump sends an early morning tweet denouncing the news media and referring to networks, journalists, and programs as “Fake News” perpetrators. This notion that has rallied support from Trump’s [voting] base.
Students, professors and journalists are being forced into a defensive position. Nobody thought that this would be a threat due to the protection of the First Amendment. CNN, in particular, has been very active in responding to the tweets and allegations coming from the White House.
In a video that went viral in October, CNN seemed to take a shot at the president’s near-constant barrage of criticism ending it with the simple slogan “Facts First.”
“At CNN, we start with the facts first,” said Sara Murray, 32, CNN White House correspondent.
“In an era where the president uses a Twitter megaphone to peddle false information, that role is all the more important. When asked, what have the president’s attacks meant for me? Work harder. Triple check your facts. Make that extra phone call. And, above all, remember it is the job of the Fourth Estate to hold our elected leaders accountable,” Murray continued.
The Trump administration is questioning and uprooting the First Amendment, while also attacking journalists themselves, critics argue. Some journalists and networks have responded with a new, and sometimes sensational, approach to reporting and conveying the news to the public.
“There has been an increase in sensationalism and partisan news outlets which I think is really detrimental to journalism ethics,” Abelson said.
Fortunately, Americans and the news media have seen a rise in the popularity of investigative reporting, according to professor Eisman. People want more information rather than solely relying on what they have been told by the media.
“This is a good story for us,” Eisman said. “We are in Washington, we’re in a time that our industry is up-ended, and we are at a time where the president of the United States is taking regular and routine whacks at the media.”
Eisman went on to say that there is no better or more important time to be studying journalism at American because of our physical location in relation to the epicenter of all the recent news.
News has been flowing out of the White House at an unprecedented level, accompanied by Trump’s interpretation of how the news outlets are reporting it.
Trump usually voices his opinions and concerns via his highly publicized Twitter account, with about 3,000 tweets since Election Day 2016.
The president questioning the news has spurred Americans to re-evaluate their consumption.
The overall trust and confidence in the news media has a reached a level not seen since 2001, a vast majority of people have lost trust in the news media, according to a new Poynter Study. Almost half of Americans — 44 percent — indicate that they believe the news media fabricates stories about President Trump more than once in awhile, the study revealed.
However, nearly a third of those polled also indicated that they agree with a claim that Trump made calling the media an “enemy of the people.”
The study indicates while we have reached a peak level of trust, a majority of Americans have indicated that the onslaught of tweets from Trump have had limited effects on how they perceive the media.
There have been studies pouring out from multiple companies, all with the same findings. This divisive time in reporting forces the public to reconsider how they perceive and trust the news media. According to professor Eisman, in order to change how the public’s perception, it is important to teach journalistic skills, tactics, ethics, and transparency to future generations.
“The pace of news, and new technology, has changed the way that we cover the news–but it has not changed the need for accuracy and verification,” Eisman said.
Eisman is hopeful for the future because of students like Abelson.
Abelson, graduating in December, is apprehensive of the new year due to news surrounding the White House.
Abelson said, “The Trump presidency is one of the main reasons why I have decided that I want to be a White House correspondent, it is what pushed me to realize that this is what I want to be when I grow up.
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