‘We are not the enemy’: An explosive day for the free press

Thousands of readers across the country woke Thursday morning to find coordinated efforts by more than 350 newspapers across the country, joined together in a show of solidarity to defend the free press and denounce its attackers. The project, comprised of hundreds of unique and coordinated editorials, was spearheaded by the staff of the Boston Globe.

From behemoth organizations like the New York Times to tiny hometown newspapers in rural flyover states, the mass response by publications local and national was overwhelming.

The mass media response was heavy on social media. In response to the editorials, President Trump fired back via Twitter.

THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018

There is nothing that I would want more for our Country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The fact is that the Press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018

According to Marjorie Pritchard, deputy managing editor of the Boston Globe, the project was not against Trump. “This editorial project is not against the Trump administration’s agenda. It’s a response to put us into the public discourse and defend the First Amendment,” said the Globe editorial staff on NRP’s Morning Edition.

“[T]he press needs to have a voice on this … We’ve done individual editorials, but I think it’s, there is some strength in numbers of just defending a constitutionally enshrined pillar of democracy,” Pritchard said.

Later Thursday morning, the United States Senate formally defended the press as it passed a unanimous resolution brought forward by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. , calling out what it called “the attacks on the institution of the free press.”

The resolution was passed by voice vote.

The statement read:

“The Senate –

(A) affirms that the press is not the enemy of the people.

(B) affirms the vital and indispensable role that the free press serves to inform the electorate, uncover truth, act as a check on the inherent power of the government, further national discourse and debate, and otherwise advance the most basic and cherished democratic norms and freedoms of the United States.

(C) condemns the attacks on the institution of the free press and views efforts to systematically undermine the credibility of the press as an attack on the democratic institution of the United States.”

Read the full resolution below:

JUST IN: US Senate passes resolution with unanimous consent by voice vote that “affirms that the press is not the enemy of the people” and “reaffirms the vital and indispensable role that the free press serves” and “condemns the attacks on the institution of the free press.” pic.twitter.com/uK8DvhsXie

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) August 16, 2018

A sampling of editorials across the country:

The New York Times wrote: “In 2018, some of the most damaging attacks are coming from government officials. Criticizing the news media — for underplaying or overplaying stories, for getting something wrong — is entirely right. News reporters and editors are human, and make mistakes. Correcting them is core to our job. But insisting that truths you don’t like are ‘fake news’ is dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy. And calling journalists the ‘enemy of the people’ is dangerous, period.”

The Topeka Capital Journal wrote: “Not covering him aggressively would be a dereliction of duty. We know that’s not always a popular stance, but it doesn’t make the press the enemy of anyone. We’re not separate from the public. We are the public. We live and work and play in Topeka and surrounding areas. We go to restaurants and send our children to school. We drive the same roads, see the same doctors. We’re not the enemy of the people. We are the people.”

The Brainerd Dispatch in this writer’s hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota wrote: “Our most core principle is holding people and institutions accountable to the best of our ability and as accurately as possible, even when that means providing information on the things people may not always want to hear. To paraphrase columnist Finley Peter Dunne, the job of the press is ‘to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.'”