"Donald Trump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values."
We recognized… there was a little bit of a phenom. to Donald Trump” “We did give him quite a bit of coverage” - Zucker
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Now, many in the media, including CNN CEO Jeff Zucker are having regrets. They’ve finally reached their limit with Trump’s abusiveness. And they’re worried.
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Trump’s tyrannical bullying of the press through blacklisting and belittling journalists has been a constant throughout his campaign. His actions go well beyond insisting the media report factually. Trump regularly incites his followers to rage on the media and even stood by his campaign manager for physically assaulting a reporter.
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In other attempts to oppress the freedom of the press, Trump has issued cease and desist letters and stated on numerous occasions he’d take legal action against various news outlets. Following the October 12th publication of two women’s accounts of Trump sexually assaulting them, Trump’s attorney’s issued a Retraction Letter to the NYT.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has also routinely made vague proposals to limit basic elements of press and internet freedom. At a rally in February, Trump declared that if elected president he would "open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." In September, Trump tweeted, "My lawyers want to sue the failing @nytimes so badly for irresponsible intent. I said no (for now), but they are watching. Really disgusting."
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CPJ, a non-profit that advocates for journalists globally, typically focuses on the Middle East and other “conflict stricken areas where journalists routinely face repression and violence. “Foreign governments like Iran, China and Pakistan are frequent targets of the group's efforts.”
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In response to the recent uptick of Trump’s threats and verbal assaults, several outlets are now speaking more forcefully against Trump’s abuse of the press and CPJ, a non-profit for journalists, is stepping forward.
CPJ CHAIRMAN: TRUMP IS THREAT TO PRESS FREEDOM
Guaranteeing the free flow of information to citizens through a robust, independent press is essential to American democracy. For more than 200 years this founding principle has protected journalists in the United States and inspired those around the world, including brave journalists facing violence, censorship, and government repression.
Donald Trump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values. On October 6, CPJ's board of directors passed a resolution declaring Trump an unprecedented threat to the rights of journalists and to CPJ's ability to advocate for press freedom around the world.
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A Trump presidency would represent a threat to press freedom in the United States, but the consequences for the rights of journalists around the world could be far more serious. Any failure of the United States to uphold its own standards emboldens dictators and despots to restrict the media in their own countries. This appears to be of no concern to Trump, who indicated that he has no inclination to challenge governments on press freedom and the treatment of journalists.
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That same Thursday evening, Trump ramped up his authoritarian, law and order stance against the press by having them escorted from his event “under watch of cops in riot gear.”
”The fire is rising” in these final weeks of the campaign with the media in the midst in of it. Trump is stoking the flames of rage and conspiracy theories of a “rigged election.”
On Friday, Trump accused the press of being in on “One Big Fix,” an integral part of a global conspiracy to destroy him by printing lies, “Our media is sick and it is making our country sick and we are going to stop it.” Consequently, Trump fans are becoming increasingly aggressive toward the press and grabbing hold of the conspiracy theory that the media is rigging the election.
Reporters are now concealing or removing their press credentials when leaving the pen to avoid confrontations with Trump’s supporters. The atmosphere is particularly threatening to female reporters and to female TV reporters whose faces are well known, reporters say. (“The camera draws the hate,” as one put it.) Some reporters have wondered aloud about the need for more security, or at least more barriers to separate them from the crowd as they enter and exit Trump’s events.
Trump is not letting up. As he plummets in the polls, he continues to push his conspiracy theory of a “rigged election by the media.”
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Trump’s fanning the flames of a conspiracy theory of a “rigged election by the media,” poses a threat to our democracy and lays the groundwork to delegitimize Hillary Clinton’s Presidency.
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“This is recognizing that a Trump presidency represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.”