Forcing myself to listen to President Trump’s inauguration address, I remained nonplussed until I heard: “We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly …”
Huh? Just a few days before, we had all heard Trump refuse a reporter from a major network the right to even ask a question. We heard him call journalists: “dishonest” “disgusting” “liars” and “scum”. During his campaign, he said: “Believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems…” before threatening to close bothersome media down using libel laws. It seems the truth behind the Trump mask is vastly different to the words he used in his inaugural address.
There was more blahblah and bluster against the media from Trump, but you probably heard it all anyway. As someone once said: “everyone wants a free press until they are featured in it.” It is a hallmark of tyrants and megalomaniacs to first attack freedom of expression and discredit it by accusing it of bias, distortion and now ‘fake news.’ Benjamin Franklin knew this when he said: “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
Undoubtedly, perversions of truth can occur in the media; journalists and editors make no claim to angelic perfection but it should be born in mind what ‘media’ means, and its role in a democracy.
It derives from the Latin ‘medium, meaning: “an intervening agency, means, or instrument.” It also implies “being in the middle of…” Media in all of its forms, electronic and print, is the middle-man in information dissemination. It is and should be on the cynical side, questioning everything and assuming nothing until researched and verified. This is not to advocate pan-society cynicism; it’s a job someone has to do in a healthy democracy and the ancient Greeks who invented both (fittingly cynic means ‘dog-like’), counted great philosophers such as Aristotle, Euclid, Plato, Socrates and Diogenes amongst its founders.
We need cynics and sceptics
Without a cynical media, tyrants flourish, mendacious men get away with murder and people become enslaved. Perhaps Mr. Trump would do well to consider the beliefs of previous American Presidents, beginning with the first:
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” George Washington
In particular, Trump might consider the words of Theodore Roosevelt: “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
More recently: “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."Harry Truman
PUTIN ON THE AGONY
Lurking in the shadows behind America’s new Caesar is the worrisome wraith of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. It should be emphasized that, although he promulgates his physical prowess and therefore comes across a bit of a jock, Putin was not only a lieutenant-colonel KGB officer, but a brilliant one. After his KGB posting in former East Germany (unquestionably a country that fulfilled Truman’s quote), he wrote a thesis for a PhD in economic sciences, focusing on raw materials and minerals – or did he?
In 2013, Time magazine published findings from the Brookings Institute that asserted Putin’s 218-page thesis was plagiarized from an American economics textbook, including diagrams. Even in Russia, where ‘degrees for sale’ is a corrupt industry, it is nervously acknowledged that this might be the case but, as Brookings’ Clifford Gaddy says: “Everybody knows about it, but nobody wants to bring it up.” Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev brought it up and was quickly shut down – using the state-controlled media.
Since assuming power in 2000, Putin has increasingly tightened his grip on the media. At least 21 unsolved killings of journalists and editors have occurred. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks Russia in the top three countries where it is deadly to work as a journalist – only behind Algeria and Iraq. Many more journalists and even bloggers and Facebook posters have ended up in prison or been forced to resign after intimidation.
As for freedom of the press, Russia ranks 148th out of 179 countries according to the 2016 survey by Reporters Without Borders. Australia, by the way, lies shamefully at 25th, well behind New Zealand at 5th. The worst? North Korea.
A 2015 Huffington Post report notes that: “After Putin came into power in 2000, he established control over the three main TV stations. In 2001 and 2002, he took control of the two biggest TV channels, ORT (now First Channel) and NTV. The state broadcaster, RTR (now Rossiya 1), was already under his control. During his subsequent year in power, Putin moved more and more outlets under his influence until he controlled most of the major mainstream media. He appoints editors and general directors, either officially or unofficially.”
And this is the man who America’s new President appears to hero-worship and sees as a good example. Yes, it’s a good example of total control of the media and abuse of power. As President, Putin has done a good job for Russia and no one could accuse him of not being a great patriot but that old KGB deviousness and cunning still underscores everything he says and does – it’s all about control.
What about Australian media?
How might all this affect Australian media? If Trump carries through on his promises to throttle the freedom out of the US media, learning from his idol Putin, it sets an example other world leaders might see as validated.
We have not been immune from attacks on freedom of speech. Queensland under Joh Bjelke Petersen was notorious for its stifling of the media and persecution of journalists who were doing their jobs.
More recently, we saw Gina Rinehart’s foray into media ownership, buying a large stake in Fairfax and demanding a seat on the board and the right to hire and fire editors. She did not like the way Fairfax journalists covered the mining industry and her private family stoushes. Failing to achieve either, she sold her stake again to focus on what she is really good at – mining. But not before trying to intimidate five Fairfax reporters including Walkley-award winning Adele Ferguson by subpoenaing them to reveal their sources. In living memory, journalists have been jailed for refusing to reveal sources – something that is enshrined in journalistic rights in all democracies.
The 1975 kidnap and murder of newspaper publisher and activist Juanita Nielsen remains largely unsolved.
If Trump is allowed to get away with a Putin-style clampdown on free media, the results will resound around the world and don’t think we will be immune in Australia. Unlikely, yes, but not immune.
Constitutional rights
There are a few inconvenient things standing in Trump’s way, such as the First Amendment to the American Constitution, Congress must pass any new anti-media legislation plus a vibrant, free, unreasonable and cynical media that exists coast-to-coast in America. I don’t think Trump gives a darn about any of these things, such is his self-centred lack of knowledge about the world in general. He’s used you giving the orders on reality TV, so that makes him a fine candidate for President? “You’re fired?”
As for his meaningless mantra ‘Make America great again,’ what is not great about a country where, today, 30% of the world’s biggest 2000 companies are American (Forbes)? Where there are more billionaires than the next four countries combined? Where the IMF still ranks the USA #1 in world GDP (nominal) by a long way although China is predicted to overtake the USA in 2020 (but it does have 1.35 billion population!)? Also by far the world’s strongest military machine, spending more on defense than the next nine countries combined and possessing the world’s largest nuclear arsenal? The world’s two largest stock exchanges – four times the size of its nearest four rivals? The list goes on.
Maybe what Trump means is: ‘Make me great again’ and anything, anyone, who criticises him is an enemy of that greatness – especially the media. Forbes reports that his wealth dropped by $800 million last year. He’s now ranked just the 336th richest person in the world. We should not overlook his six corporate bankruptcies. He claims a net worth of around $10 billion, Forbes say $4.5 billion. Maybe he’ll finally release his tax returns.
There is so much to report about America’s new President and his relationship with Russia (and I don’t criticize any sincere attempts at reconciling differences using diplomatic entente cordiale). The only way this can be done is with a free media, free of threats and retributions.
But, he’s threatened and promised retributions – the first American President ever to do so, apparently learned from Putin. Even if it’s all mouth and braggadocio, it’s very unpresidential.
Will our leaders look on and imitate? Or worse, be cajoled into clamp-downs by the Trump administration and America’s considerable sway over Australia?
If ever this happens, welcome to 1984.
Footnote: Trump’s PR machine’s latest accusation is that the media has not accurately reported the crowd size at his inauguration. Aerial photographs taken at the same time at Obama’s 2009 inauguration and Trump’s clearly show a greatly diminished crowd size – probably two-thirds smaller. And yet he and his minders aver that ‘the crowd was bigger and the media are liars… worst people on the planet...” blahblah. The fact that crowd size in itself is a major issue in assuaging this President’s ego is a worry, but to openly deny evidential fact, claim falsehoods as truth and those reporting the truth as liars is even more worrying. Check it out for yourself here.