Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno Bee to Trump: We're Not Enemies of the People
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 7 years ago on
August 16, 2018

Share

Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii, including The Fresno Bee, pushed back against President Donald Trump’s attacks on “fake news” Thursday with a coordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press.
The Boston Globe, which set the campaign in motion by urging the unified voice, had estimated that some 350 newspapers would participate.

Some newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote editorials explaining why they weren’t joining the Globe’s effort.
“We don’t expect President Trump to like us, agree with us, or even click our website or buy a newspaper. But to call us an enemy of the American people is beyond reasonable bounds,” wrote The Bee Editorial Board.
“Bee reporters work hard to get information, often from sources who are reluctant to provide it, even when the information was gathered by a taxpayer-supported agency and is clearly in the public’s right to know.
“Opposition to a free press is nothing new, nor is President Trump the first Oval Office occupant to dislike the media. Like their colleagues elsewhere, The Bee’s journalists understand it is part of the job. They don’t ask for sympathy or favor.
“We join our colleagues across the country today with this call: President Trump, please stop referring to the press as ‘the enemy.’ Disagree with us; call us slow-witted if we make an error. But don’t make us less than the Americans we truly are.”
You can read The Bee’s entire editorial at this link.

What Other Newspapers Are Saying

The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald said a free and independent press is the best defense against tyranny, while the Honolulu Star-Advertiser emphasized democracy’s need for a free press.
“The true enemies of the people — and democracy — are those who try to suffocate truth by vilifying and demonizing the messenger,” wrote the Des Moines Register in Iowa.
In St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch called journalists “the truest of patriots.” The Chicago Sun-Times said it believed most Americans know that Trump is talking nonsense.
The Fayetteville Observer said it hoped Trump would stop, “but we’re not holding our breath.”
“Rather, we hope all the president’s supporters will recognize what he’s doing — manipulating reality to get what he wants,” the North Carolina newspaper said.
On Thursday morning, Trump again took to Twitter to denounce  “collusion” by the free press and “fake news.”


That followed this tweet from the president: “THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!”
The Morning News of Savannah, Georgia, said it was a confidant, not an enemy, to the people.
“Like any true friend, we don’t always tell you want you want to hear,” the Morning News said. “Our news team presents the happenings and issues in this community through the lens of objectivity. And like any true friend, we refuse to mislead you. Our reporters and editors strive for fairness.”
Some newspapers used history lessons to state their case. The Elizabethtown Advocate in Pennsylvania, for instance, compared free press in the United States to such rights promised but not delivered in the former Soviet Union.

Senate Stands With Press

In a rebuke to Trump, the U.S. Senate went on record Thursday, declaring “that the press is not the enemy of the people,” rollcall.com reported.
Senators adopted by unanimous consent a resolution from Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York to declare the Senate’s support for a free press and the First Amendment protections afforded to journalists.

Did New York Times Send Wrong Message?

The New York Times added a pitch.

Photo of editorials from New York Times and Boston Glove
An editorial titled “A Free Press Needs You” is published in The New York Times, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.  (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
“If you haven’t already, please subscribe to your local papers,” said the Times, whose opinion section also summarized other editorials across the country. “Praise them when you think they’ve done a good job and criticize them when you think they could do better. We’re all in this together.”
“Donald Trump is not responsible for the eroding trust in the media. He lacks the credibility to pull that off. The damage to our standing is self-inflicted.” — Nolan Finley, columnist and editorial page editor of The Detroit News
That last sentiment made some journalists skittish.
Some newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote editorials explaining why they weren’t joining the Globe’s effort.
The Chronicle wrote that one of its most important values is independence, and going along with the crowd went against that. Both the Chronicle and Baltimore Sun said that it plays into the hands of Trump and his supporters who think the media is out to get him.

Too Much Opinion, Not Enough Facts

Nolan Finley, columnist and editorial page editor of The Detroit News, spoke up for the press but added a scolding. He said too many journalists are slipping opinion into their news reports, adding commentary and calling it context.
“Donald Trump is not responsible for the eroding trust in the media,” Finley wrote. “He lacks the credibility to pull that off. The damage to our standing is self-inflicted.”
The Radio Television Digital News Association, which represents more than 1,200 broadcasters and websites, is also asking its members to point out that journalists are friends and neighbors doing important work holding government accountable.
“I want to make sure that it is positive,” said Dan Shelley, the group’s executive director. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we make this about attacking the president or attacking his supporters.”
It remains unclear how much sway the effort will have. Newspaper editorial boards overwhelmingly opposed Trump’s election in 2016. Polls show Republicans have grown more negative toward the news media in recent years: Pew Research Center said 85 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said in June 2017 that the news media has a negative effect on the country, up from 68 percent in 2010.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

S&P 500, Nasdaq Near Record Highs as Rate-Cut Bets Creep Up

DON'T MISS

Bobby Sherman, Easygoing Teen Idol of the 1960s and ’70s, Dies at 81

DON'T MISS

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

DON'T MISS

How the United States Helped Create Iran’s Nuclear Program

DON'T MISS

Driver Arrested for DUI After Rolling Car on Highway 168

DON'T MISS

US Senate Republicans Race to Resolve Tax, Health Issues in Trump’s Tax Bill

DON'T MISS

Israel Halts Aid Into Gaza, Official Says, Clans Deny Hamas Is Stealing It

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Backs South Carolina Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

DON'T MISS

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

DON'T MISS

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

UP NEXT

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

UP NEXT

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

UP NEXT

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

UP NEXT

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

Fresno Residents Join Nationwide Fast to Call Attention to Gaza Crisis

UP NEXT

SoCal Vice Mayor Urges Street Gang ‘Cholos’ to Rise Up Against ICE

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Kimberly Ann Harris

UP NEXT

Fresno County Wildfire Near Coalinga Grows to 852 Acres, 65% Contained

Trump Administration Has ‘No Imminent Plans’ to Refill Nation’s Emergency Oil Reserve

55 minutes ago

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

1 hour ago

Tulare County Authorities Seek Leads After Armed Robbery in Earlimart

1 hour ago

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

2 hours ago

White House Wants Major Cut in US War Crimes, Accountability Funding, Sources Say

2 hours ago

No Known Intelligence That Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

2 hours ago

What Does the Fresno County Schools Superintendent Do? Read This Q&A to Find Out

2 hours ago

Israel Says Iran’s Supreme Leader Avoided Assassination by Going Underground

2 hours ago

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

2 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Issue Term’s Final Rulings on Friday

3 hours ago

Feds Charge Bullard High Teacher With Child Porn, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

A federal grand jury Thursday charged a former Bullard High photography teacher with sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child sexual...

3 minutes ago

3 minutes ago

Feds Charge Bullard High Teacher With Child Porn, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

New data shows Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election not because of low turnout, but because millions of young, nonwhite, and irregular voters either stayed home or shifted their support to Donald Trump. (Shutterstock)
4 minutes ago

New Data Clarifies a Lingering Question on 2024 Turnout

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the start of a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
36 minutes ago

US Announces New Fentanyl-Related Visa Restriction Policy

A boat sails along the Brazos Harbor in Freeport, Texas, U.S., June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
55 minutes ago

Trump Administration Has ‘No Imminent Plans’ to Refill Nation’s Emergency Oil Reserve

1 hour ago

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

Two armed suspects robbed customers and a clerk at a gas station in Earlimart Wednesday, June 25, 2025, night before fleeing in a blue vehicle. (Tulare County SO)
1 hour ago

Tulare County Authorities Seek Leads After Armed Robbery in Earlimart

2 hours ago

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

A view of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
2 hours ago

White House Wants Major Cut in US War Crimes, Accountability Funding, Sources Say

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend