Donald Trump refuses to take a question from CNN's Senior White House Correspondent @Acosta https://t.co/SYIPLekALG https://t.co/Im5Dlc38B4
— CNN (@CNN) January 11, 2017
There’s an old school saying from George Orwell that’s quite popular in serious journalism circles. It goes a little something like this:
The media is such a circus/circle-jerk/personality-driven shit show in 2017 that we can debate for days on end what is and isn’t journalism. What’s true and what’s not. But the cornerstone of the argument is the very existence of the free press under the protection of the First Amendment.
Today during Donald Trump’s first press conference since winning the election, the President-Elect chided CNN’s Jim Acosta, calling him out for “fake news.” It’s important to distinguish that CNN didn’t report on the much-discussed Golden Showers rumors like Buzzfeed did, but rather than Russians allegedly had compromising intel on Trump. He still has yet to accurately respond to those allegations.
Our response to President-elect Donald Trump's accusations of false reporting https://t.co/AElV6C3VZE pic.twitter.com/D1EztgBP8G
— CNN (@CNN) January 11, 2017
To the shock of many, Trump’s public press conference temper tantrum was actually called out this afternoon by Shep Smith of Fox News, one of the organizations that’s often in the drivers seat of the Trump train.
MUST WATCH: Fox News' Shep Smith stands up for Jim @Acosta, CNN, and the free press. pic.twitter.com/ry91ljcjfu
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 11, 2017
Shep Smith delivered this monologue at the end of his Fox show: No journalist "should be subjected to belittling…by the president-elect" pic.twitter.com/JLmWnBhHFA
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 11, 2017
You have to give it to Shep to defend one of his own in the journalism fraternity. Straight up cats and dogs living together. The next four years are going to be a wild, wild ride.