Normalising Trump: The US media whitewash
How the US media begins the process of ‘normalising’ Donald Trump; plus, reporting the rise of the right in Germany.
On The Listening Post this week: The US media begins the process of ‘normalising’ Donald Trump; plus, we look at Germany’s media trust issues and the challenges of reporting the rise of the right.
Normalising Trump: The US media whitewash
Normalisation – it’s the new buzzword in post-election American journalism. Is this softening of media criticism designed to give the president-elect a chance, or is it a self-serving media push to mend fences and ensure access to the Trump White House?
Talking us through the story are: Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief, The Huffington Post; John Doyle, TV critic, The Globe and Mail; Mike Cernovich, author and filmmaker; Sarah Kendzior, the author of The View From Flyover Country; and Kurt Bardella, president, Endeavor Strategies and former spokesman, Breitbart.
On our radar
- Six years since allegations of rape against Julian Assange, the Swedish prosecutors can finally hear his side of the story.
- Two journalists in Myanmar could face a lengthy prison time, having run afoul of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
- Kurdish channels operating from Europe, which were suspended at the request of Turkey’s regulator, are ordered to be brought back on the air by a Parisian court.
Germany’s media trust issues
What started out as the media’s enthusiastic telling of a feel-good story about integration has morphed into a tale of the waning trust Germans have in their news media. Many Germans see their press corps shifting from journalism to activism. Is it the media’s role to counter the populist rhetoric fuelling the country’s right-wing revival?
The Listening Post‘s Marcela Pizarro reports on the media’s role and the challenges of reporting the rise of the far right in Germany.