The press, when allowed to run free and undeterred, can be everything from a beacon of truth in a sea of misinformation to a powerful government watchdog defending citizens’ rights.
Free societies have long been marked, if not defined, by a free press.
Likewise, authoritarian regimes have long been marred by their suppression of this fundamental right. So the recent clash between President Obama’s administration and Fox News is disturbing, to say the least.
There’s nothing new or unique about the apparent distaste between the Obama Administration and Fox News. Presidents and news outlets have always had a tepid relationship at best, and an outright combative one at worst.
However, it’s hard not to look at the banter between Fox News and Obama’s staff without wincing.
Fox News, widely regarded as a more conservative news station, has been the target of many disparagements by members of the president’s administration.
Anita Dunn, former White House communications director, for example, likened Fox News to an extension of the Republican Party over a news network.
Not to be left behind, David Axelrod, senior advisor to the president, dismissed Fox as an illegitimate news source completely.
Fox News is, debatably, the biggest sole contributor to conservative thought in mainstream news. It was from coverage led by Fox News that paved the path to major reform in the funding of the ACORN after a series of tapes revealed staff members to supply tax evasion advice.
Of course, Fox News is no fan of the president’s administration, heading the call for Van Jones, the “Green Jobs Czar,” to resign.
There is merit behind a news organization willing to work contrary to the president. This has always been the case, but Obama’s staff is bringing itself beyond even Nixon-era feuds. In fact, the administration went so far as to bar Fox from attending a press conference, to the uproar of other networks.
By trying to shoulder off Fox News as illegitimate, Obama’s administration appears scared and brutish in their childlike appraisal. The president and his staff need realize that a free press does not accept convenience.
In order to avoid ostracizing the right wing, the president needs to heed criticism, not fight it. His staff’s actions do not deter opposition, but rather energizes it.
And with health care in Congress, there is much to be energized about.