Bad news for journalism = good news for journalism teachers

Trump wants to handpick the reporters covering the White House. Let’s talk about why this is an issue.

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” wrote Eugene Daniels, the president of the White House Correspondents Association. “It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move meant “new media” — like online only sites, streams and podcasts — would get “to share in this awesome responsibility.”

Talk about this

No. 1: Picking and choosing journalists

This is a great time to help current journalism students understand classic elements of political reporting like press pools and the legal issue of viewpoint discrimination. 

• Trump’s White House continues chipping away at press freedoms (Poynter Report)

• White House Correspondents’ Association cedes control of pool reports to Trump administration (Politico)

Here’s a thoughtful explainer from former Washington Post media writer Paul Farhi: Will Others Dive into the White House Press Pool?

And here’s a primer on the fulcrum of this argument: As tensions spike between journalists and the president, here’s a look at ‘viewpoint discrimination’

No. 2: My paper, my rules?

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