This On the Media podcast episode focused a lot on how the news is going to be portrayed now that Trump is in office. There seems to be a lot of talk about the press corps and whether they will be staying in the White House. I've been thinking about the press corps situation as well as President Trump's twitter usage in regards to the future of news and journalism.
First, I want to discuss a little bit about the press corps. While listening to this podcast, I realized that I didn't have any idea what the press corps was. Thanks to the internet thought, I was able to learn more about the press corps, the history behind it, as well as the current situation with Trump. The press corps are the ones who get the news scoop right at the White House. They meet in a small room and then listen and ask questions for the purpose of receiving information. Trump wanted to move the press corps out of the White House and into the Eisenhower building next door, which the press didn't like. According to U.S. News, it was decided that the press would still meet in the White House, on the condition that Trump and his association would decide who would be in the room for the meeting.
When I read this, I couldn't help but think of when Trump refused to answer a question from CNN because he decide they were fake news. If Trump is able to pick and choose which reporters are getting briefed, who is to say that he will only choose those who he likes? Will he be able to kick out those who he considers to be threatening and/or "fake" in their possible news reports? The power to choose those who report at the White House could be a big problem Of course, this is under the stipulation that being at the White House and getting briefed day to day is a main form of receiving important information.
Trump being President could be a big factor in changing how we get news. Trump has been using social media, specifically twitter, as a means of directly reaching out to millions of Americans. Trump seems to be accepting and utilizing technology as a way to communicate to the general public. Using the latest advancements of technology has been seen with many Presidents. NPR published an article back in November that discusses Trump's usage of utilizing twitter as a way of mimicking past presidents and their technological uses. FDR used radio to give his fireside chats. Eisenhower was the first to broadcast news conferences on tv. Ronald Reagan used primetime live tv. Even Obama used social media and various talk shows to communicate with more audiences. The fact is, Presidents have used different technology to reach out and connect with the general public to set new standards of how the news gets portrayed. The question to ask is this: will social media become a standard news source for people that diminishes or replaces the way journalists gather news through press conferences and briefings?
Trump has no problem using twitter, and other social media platforms, as a way to communicate exactly what he wants to his millions of viewers. In an interview on 60 minutes, Trump discusses how he shouldn't be ashamed in using his social media because it's a great form of communication. While being in the role of President of the United States will make Trump be "restrained" in his Twitter usage, but It doesn't look like it will stop him from using it. The question to ponder is if social media truly is a great for of communication. I, personally, think that social media sites are a great way for people to communicate their ideas and instantaneously connect with millions, even billions of people. The problem that social media brings is that anyone can publish anything. There's a reason that there is so much problems in society today dealing with fake news stories. The vast amount of these fake news stories creates a big problem for social media to be an accurate form of getting the news. Regardless of the fake news stories, social media will revolutionize the way that the world will receive the news, especially considering that social media, according to BBC, reaches more young people as a news source than tv. More and more people are turning to social media as a way to stay updated on current events. Using social media as a news source is going to be interesting to watch during the Trump presidency, as well as in decades to come when it become more integrated in the general populations culture.
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