His previous campaigns have been punctuated by conflict with the press. So how should journalists and news outlets cover Donald Trump's latest run for the White House?
KMOX's "What the Media?!!?" podcast asked Jon Marshall, an associate professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He said, "I think with Donald Trump we have to be careful to make sure that we're sticking with the facts."
Marshall told hosts Megan Lynch and Julie Smith that media outlets need to apply a consistent and fair standard for what speeches and events they will cover and give air time to, based on any candidate's polling numbers.
"In 2016, he got a preponderance of the attention, because it was a carnival any time he had a speech, both in terms of his performance and the crowd," he said. "It was a spectacle and the media gravitated to it. It gave places like CNN high ratings."
He said whether reporters and news organizations are following an advocacy or an objective model, "what we need to do as journalists is always seek the truth, and report the facts, and verify the information we get. And if you want to be in an advocating position, and push for a cause, push for a political position, you can do that, but you need to follow the facts where they lead you. Sometimes the facts might lead you in a direction that goes against your original hypothesis, or goes against your original cause. In that case, journalists need to be honest about it and say 'wait, there's more information here, here's the truth about it.'"
Marshall is the author of Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis and Watergate's Legacy and the Press: The Investigative Impulse.
Click here to catch up on the latest episodes of "What the Media?!!?"
@2022 Audacy (KMOX). All rights reserved.
Follow KMOX | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Listen on the free Audacy app.
Tell your smart speaker to play K M O X