To think this is scary? (Trump related)

[Bestthingever]

I have just read that the White House held a press briefing yesterday and excluded major news organisations like the BBC, CNN and the New York Times. I'm sorry I don't know how to post links, maybe someone else does. These organisations have obviously run stories critical of Trump. A media which challenges and questions government is part of having a healthy democracy. The media may get it wrong sometimes and may be heavily biased and it is our responsibility as citizens to be aware of bias etc. However for the executive branch to start excluding the media outlets he doesn't like because they are unfavourable to him is scary and I'm worried the US at the top of a slippery slope. As someone said (I forget the name) 'I don't agree with what you say but I'll die for your right to say it.' Allowing opinions we don't like is a keystone of democracy.

The things is Angel he's the President of the USA. You can't stamp your foot and ban major media outlets from your PC just because they've been mean to you.

Because I'm forcing myself to be an optimist: Somebody pointed out to me that Woodward and Bernstein didn't have access to Nixon's White House either. If you have secrets to keep it's probably best not to offend vast swaths of investigative journalists.

I saw this.

I'm ASTOUNDED it hasn't been bigger news especially in USA. This is surely unconstitutional, normally Americans are up in arms about anything that even comes close to being so!

Wtf is going on in the world! Terrifying. Yet all of us that said right at the beginning when trump was first running, when he was elected that we were entering an Orwellian nightmare were dismissed as paranoid conspiracy theorists - not looking so unlikely now is it?

Ninja I REALLY hope you're right, unfortunately I'm worried that he'll use terrorism laws/fears to incarcerate anyone who speaks against him, or have them declared insane.

Ninja you can already see that happening. The leaks about his campaign team talking to Russia throughout the elections was the work of investigative journalists. The media's become a bit of a joke over the past few years but I think this is the smack in the face they need to become the voice of the people again.

He's way out of his depth, and this is the only way he can cope with the tough questions. The trouble is that he's too dim to realise that those questions are going to keep on coming.

Interesting how many people come on here to slag off one or two of the news organisations in question but have nothing to say about the actual issue in question, i.e. the very serious implications of press censorship.

Trump has also said he isn't going to attend the Correspondents' Dinner. The man has no self-awareness or humility. Trying to control the press is the thin end of the wedge. The fake news thing is a smokescreen - most of the fake news seems to come from the Trump camp. He is odious.

I agree BBC and CNN are in the wrong and I personally have had enough of their bullshit coverage of Trump.

I wonder why his team would LET him do this? Is it because he's a scary bastard or is it because he does as they tell him?

Precisely what is there about the BBC and CNN coverage that is (a) bullshit and (b) different from what other news organisations have reported, twinkle foot? Do you agree with the Mail being excluded?

Megatherium - "Interesting how many people come on here to slag off one or two of the news organisations in question but have nothing to say about the actual issue in question, i.e. the very serious implications of press censorship."

Yes, isn't it? Mind you, I don't think it's necessarily anything sinister, but possibly a feature of "authoritarian followers" (as described in Altemeyer's book The Authoritarians ). One of the features of people with this sort of mindset is that they assess the logical soundness of an argument solely on the basis of whether they agree with the conclusion. So in this case it would be "I don't like CNN and the BBC either, therefore Trump is right on this one." They can't make the psychological leap of separating their agreement with the conclusion from an assessment of the steps taken to arrive at that conclusion, or of the further-reaching implications of the steps taken.

You can bet your bottom dollar if it was a Labour government in this country excluding the Mail, Express, Telegraph and Sky News from press briefings, they'd be absolutely screaming about freedom of the press.

A very small number of very rich people own the American news networks. The same people who own Hollywood. Interesting how so many Hollywood stars also hate trump. Trump is not a dictator, it's not as if he has closed these networks down is it? Why would he want people to keep their guns if he wanted to be a dictator? Surely somebody who wanted complete control would want to disarm the masses? The American constitution is all about freedom and liberty and democracy. What has happened is people are sick of being fed propaganda by the mainstream media and don't trust them any more! There is an interesting clip on you tube of an msnbc presenter saying how bad trump is and how he is saying mainstream media is fake news! She actually says "it's not fake news job to tell people how to think, that's our job" basically admitting they are trying to control how people think. The sad thing is a lot of people are still falling for it. As for the bbc, they even get away with charging people by law to be force fed their own agenda. Sounds like something that would happen in bloody North Korea, not the uk. I'm well aware all news presented to us has an agenda. It is very very one sided at the moment, because of who owns the media. Trump won the election, yet I've seen very very little if any positive news about trump.

Sorry to derail, but why do people have a problem with the coverage of trump by the BBC and CNN? Yes, they've been critical, but is that bad?

My main point is, it is more frightening that the information we are being told to believe is being presented as "real" and anything that disputes it is fake. There needs to be more diversity within mainstream media. Everybody's opinion and political view should count and be accessible. Even if some people don't agree with it

" Why is he being allowed so much free reign to do these things? Surely there are powers to prevent this?"
When he was elected those of us who used the word dictator were told not to be so ridiculous and that he would have little actual power to implement things without them going through 'the system' to be approved.
yes I am bitter.

And yes media outlets are biased. That has nothing to do with this. Do you think if the 'perfect' unbiased, accurate, measured media team turned up trump would welcome them in?
They're all biased - the best way to handle that is surely to see what they all say and assume the truth is somewhere on the middle?

If he doesn't like our news organisations he really won't want to visit the UK, will he? So it would be a kindness to withdraw that invitation for a state visit. zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/trump-bans-bbc-no-state-visit.html

Dailyw, I'm afraid you've fallen hook, line and sinker for Trump propaganda. If the BBC is so left wing and biased, how come it regularly shows religious and royalist programmes? How come the Question Time panel so frequently has a majority of right wing speakers? Why did it employ as its Political Editor for so long an accredited member of the Conservative Party, and why does it still give that person a very influential voice?

Given that there is also a very vocal section of the Press that supports Trump, do you think the reason you haven't seen positive news about him is perhaps that even his supporters are struggling to find it?

It is frightening. Perhaps we should be banning fox news from any uk government press briefing. Not. Because that's not how it should work in a free democracy where freedom of the press is an important constituent of that democracy.

As others have said, all media is biased, some more than others.

Removing the voice of any press you disagree with is another step towards fascism.

Populism is divisive by its nature; the whole strategy is to whip up Us vs. Them. Fear not hope.

Funny how obsessed Trump still is with being "popular". It's one thing he cares about.

A small minority (27% of eligible electorate) voted Trump in. Hard to see how they are suppressed given they won. I reckon they are comforted by ongoing self-image as besieged (gives you someone to blame, rather than being willing to change selves). They say they use Facebook & Breitbart for their news. Nothing to stop those media (& Fox or America One News etc.) from expanding to appeal to their supposed huge base of silent voters. Go for it guys. Prove how popular you are(n't).

I'll avoid CNN etc. if they start to validate the false & ridiculous tripe that Trump & Bannon like to spout.

I hope that the WH correspondents' dinner is a rip roaring fun bash this yr. Esp. since they will be free of that boring Drumpf party-pooper.

"A very small number of very rich people own the American news networks."
Fox News, Trump's pet network, is owned by Rupert Murdoch. So is the Daily Mail, which is one of the news outlets that he banned.
Who owns the BBC? They're on his blacklist as well.

If you can't decide whether to believe "real" news or "fake" news (there's no such thing as "fake news" by the way, fake news is called lies) then research the stories yourself and decide for yourself.

The Daily Mail isn't owned by Murdoch.

Hopefully now Trump has declared war on the press, they will go for him big time. There have to be a lot if interesting stories to tell about his career, now they don't need to keep him sweet.

The banning of the BBC in particular shows very poor judgement. Of all the news organisations in the world it probably goes to more trouble than any other to offer balanced coverage - to the point where it can sometimes seem ridiculous. e.g. Bringing on a climate sceptic (in a minority of 3%) any time climate change is discussed.
They also have impeccable standards on sourcing and don't report stuff unless the information is independently corroborated. This is not to say they occasionally get things wrong, but their reporting standards are among the highest in the world.