SPJ calls for take down of Trump’s ‘media offenders’ website

The Society for Professional Journalists has called out the White House for creating a website that targets individual journalists and news outlets that publish unfavorable coverage of the Trump-Vance administration In a letter to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday the SPJ the nation s preponderance broad-based journalism organization which works to protect the free practice of journalism with high ethical standards inquired the White House to take down its website singling out journalists for negative coverage of the administration Journalists have a constitutionally protected and societally encouraged duty to hold power to account They are not political opponents to be tracked cataloged or punished the letter signed by SPJ National President Chris Vaccaro and SPJ Ethics Committee Chair Dan Axelrod By publishing reporters names outlets and specific stories the White House is naming and shaming members of the press in a highly charged political and social milieu SPJ regards this as a form of online harassment that exposes journalists to expected threats and even violence The website currently lists outlets as Media Offenders of the Week singling out national organizations like CBS News the Boston Globe and the Independent The website says these particular organizations misrepresents and exaggerates President Trump The letter goes on to explain that there are more civil approaches to disagree with published stories without singling out people for doing the only constitutionally protected job in the country There are well-established procedures of resolving disagreements over the fairness or accuracy of stories The White House web page attacking so-called media offenders ignores these principles and instead denigrates and attacks reporters It also highlights how Trump often attacks women journalists in particular noting that two weeks ago he explained White House correspondent Catherine Lucey from Bloomberg News to be quiet piggy after she required questions related to Trump s relationship with sex offender Jeffery Epstein on Air Force One Journalists particularly women already face an enormous amount of online harassment and this can convert into physical violence As you know women journalists have also been publicly insulted by the president in contemporary weeks The letter also explains that attacks like this on the legitimate press can cause tensions between journalists who attempt to hold those in power responsible and the community who consumes the rhetoric This page which categorizes reporting as lies left-wing lunacy and malpractice has a chilling effect on coverage It undermines the healthy democratic relationship in which journalists hold power to account The letter also draws a connection to how the Russian authoritarian dictatorship references media it dislikes saying The president s new media offenders list mirrors a initiative by the Kremlin that labeled independent journalism as fake news The United States should not follow that example SPJ believes civility must be restored between the media and the Administration Removing this page would be a vital first step toward lowering the temperature and reinforcing America s commitment to free expression The SPJ s code of ethics widely regarded as the ethical standard for good journalism has four main pillars Seek Truth and Summary It Minimize Harm Act Independently and Be Accountable and Transparent The code was adopted in from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and has been revised multiple times since then including in and majority of in recent days in NLGJA the The Association of LGBTQ Journalists is the journalist-led association that works within the news media to advance fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ communities and issues provided a declaration to the Blade on the website and supports the SPJ s society call for removing the website to restore faith in journalistic freedom in the U S We stand with SPJ in urging the Trump administration to remove its website targeting so-called media offenders While NLGJA believes that media organizations should be held to the highest standards of accuracy and ethical reporting this website does nothing to endorsement a healthy press climate National Board President Ken Miguel communicated the Blade via email Instead it undermines populace trust in the free press enables the harassment and targeting of journalists and hinders their ability to cover the news fairly and accurately Journalists must be able to do their work without fear of ruling body retaliation The White House has not responded to the Washington Blade s request for comment on the letter The post SPJ calls for take down of Trump s media offenders website appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta