Could the Trump-Bannon-Ailes Network be the Voice of America?

Historians a German philosopher once wrote are prophets looking backwardsamp160 Media industry executives would be wise to reflect on thatamp160thought as they contemplate remarks in late January to The New York Times by Steve Bannon President Trump39s chief political strategist who wants to bring their news divisions to heelTensions between the White House and the journalists who cover it come with the territory as do battles over news stories that can shape a president39s reputation or his policies39 fate amp160Even so relationships inevitably are pragmatic senior officials need coverage to promote their agendas and reporters need access to do their job Save for times of historic crisis amp160think Richard Nixon39s Watergate scandal amp160sparring is the norm and allout warfare rareWhatever that old symbiosis Bannon last month made clear that times have changedamp160 Like Trump39s own namecalling whenever reporters are in sight his call to the Times excoriated the media 1 Admonishing the Fourth Estate to quotkeep its mouth shutquot until its reporting conforms to the White House view of reality alternative facts included he labeled the press quotthe opposition partyquot amp160Coming from the president39s political consiglieri the declaration that the White House sees open antagonism as its default setting was hard to missNot surprisingly reporters editors and the rest of the media establishment have responded professionally reaffirming their rights and role amp160From the White House beat to the opinion pages and talk shows commentary also has been predictable Its conventional wisdom The criticism and invective is red meat for the political base a ploy to keep critics as well as reporters scrambling and a symptom of Trump39s astonishing narcissism when anything less than adulatory reporting greets his performances no matter the stageTo be sure as a tactical playbyplay on Trump39s taunts and Bannon39s threats the assessments make sense But they also beg important questions What does it mean when the president declares war on the press amp160First Amendment guarantees or not just how vulnerable are its freedoms under a sustained assault by the country39s most powerful political leader amp160Indeed like Trump39s campaign tactics if demonizing the media is part of a permanent political strategy how far can a White House campaign against the Fourth Estate goNo White House has ever declared its categorical contempt for the press or mounted a jihad against it making a search in presidential history to find out what may come next littletono help amp160In fact identifying where an antimedia campaign could lead requires looking beyond the American political experience itself amp160Examining other current leaders abroad who have turned on the press in fact does offer some parallels amp160Russia and Poland are two places to startOver the last several years Poland39s Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has taken a leaf from Russian President Vladimir Putin39s book walking back postSoviet era democratic reforms including new curbs on the media amp160To be sure in both countries politics regulations and business models differ from ours as does their totalitarian history Still as reflections of political agendas that aim at manipulating the media the record and results of Kaczynski and Putin highlight several areas to watchCorrupting the news Creating the machinery that molds news into propaganda is a core element in controlling the press For a decade in Russia Vladimir Putin has offered a master class Russia39s role in the flow of quotfake newsquot in our 2016 presidential campaign is one example of the Kremlin39s capabilities the news environment in Russia demonstrates what can come next While Russians have reasonably free access to the Web Putin39s media machinery floods the press with government approved if not authored facts and analysis the result buries what remains of independent reporting and analysisCould it happen here The parallel with the Trump campaign and the constant flurry of emissions from his new White House is hard to miss from groundless charges about fake birth certificates inaugural crowds and election fraud to the flood of presidential tweets Executive Orders press conferences and counterattacks on critics the bogus as well as bona fide information flow has left news organizations scrambling as well as contravened the facts Whatever its origins the pattern in Trump White House public affairs has its precedents is worrisome and bears watchingCoercing the competition With the newspaper broadcast televisionamp160and radio industriesamp160accounting for some seven percent of American GDP it39s hard to believe a new competitor in the market could swing enough weight to influence how major media companies manage the news2 Poland offers a reason to think again amp160Since its election victory in 2015 Kaczynski39s right wing Law and Justice Party has done just that new laws have stripped away the powers of the National Broadcasting Council that oversees public television and radio allowing the government to hire and fire as well as install news management and reporters at willPoland39s constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press protecting its privatelyheld print and broadcast news outlets although here too economic legal screws are tightening amp160Government agencies are shifting their advertising spending to public media eroding private media company revenues amp160Using Polish libel laws that include penalties for defaming public officials and the state government suits against the news media in effect reprisals for their reporting amp160are steadily rising as are their deterrent effectsThe potential parallels here aren39t hard to find Indeed the Trump administration has hardly made a secret of its intentions amp160White House sources for example have said they plan to eliminate all funding for public broadcasting including its highly regarded national and local news operations3 Mirroring his legal tactics as real estate developer candidate Trump vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail to quotopen upquot US libel laws to allow him to sue the media and quotwin lots of moneyquot4 And Trump transition team members are in place at Voice of America where what will happen next to the 750 millionayear highly respected broadcast service under Trump management is anybody39s guess 5The Bully39s Pulpit The uncertainty surrounding Voice of America isn39t speculative amp160An amendment to last year39s defense authorization bill empowered the president to replace its board of governors amp160designed to insulate the Voice from partisanship amp160with an appointed chief executive That isn39t all legislation in 2013 lifted the ban on making its broadcasts available to American audiences 6 The ban was meant to ensure that programming to promote US interests abroad didn39t by accident or design become propaganda to influence American viewers and listeners at homeThe White House hasn39t revealed its plans although Bannon39s history as the chairman of Breitbart News a farright platform and the choice of the transition team for the Voice may suggest its thinking amp160Matthew Ciepielowski7 and Matthew Schuck8 two 20something former Trump campaign staffers are ensconced in its executive suites9 Neither has any government or senior management background or for that matter much time as journalists Ciepielowski worked on his college paper while Shuck did stints with a Breitbartlike farright web site and a conservative news network that styles itself to the right of Fox News10In any case for the first time since World War Two a president could well have direct control over the message and the machinery of his own broadcasting organization11 Or to put it in terms of the competitive media market President Trump just might be one appointment away from overseeing his own news network amp160Stories during the campaign pointed to just that interest and noted the talent not least his friend and advisor Roger Ailes who could help amp160As the Washington Post39s editorialists wrote in December it39s a development that would make president Putin proudamp1601 httpswwwnytimescom20170126businessmediastephenbannontrumpnewsmediahtmlhpampampactionclickampamppgtypeHomepageampampclickSourcestoryheadingampampmodulealedepackageregionampampregiontopnewsampampWTnavtopnews2 httpwwwnaborgdocumentsresourcesbroadcastFAQasp3 httpvarietycom2017biznewstrumppbscorporationforpublicbroadcastingnationalendowmentforthearts12019643824 httpwwwpoliticocomblogsonmedia201602donaldtrumplibellaws2198665 httpwwwmsnbccomrachelmaddowwatchretooledvoasettobetrumprunusstatemedianetwork8629934756746 httpmediashiftorg201307whyexpandingthestaterunvoiceofamericaisgoodfortransparency7 httpsballotpediaorgMattCiepielowski8 httpdailysurgecomauthormatthewschuck9 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsthefixwp20170126voiceofamericasaysitwontbecometrumptvutmterm5f46c23480de10 httpsmediamattersorgblog20170201herearehackschargebroadcastingtrumpspropagandainternationally21520611 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomopinionsglobalopinionsabigchangetousbroadcastingiscominganditsoneputinmightadmire201612096c6d5786bcb711e691ee1adddfe36cbestoryhtmlutmtermd2c0840a492aClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Could the Trump-Bannon-Ailes Network be the Voice of America?

Author

Publish date

Channel

Kent M. Harrington

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Could the Trump-Bannon-Ailes Network be the Voice of America?

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Kent M. Harrington

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies