President Barack Obama promised when he took office to be open and transparent, but his administration has been anything but open and transparent. Might reporters expect more of the same from the administration of President-elect Donald Trump?
Shop Talk panelist Will Buss pointed out that Trump claimed during the campaign that the election was rigged and that the press was against him so the relationship is already strained.
And panelist Jonathan Ahl said Trump got off to a bad start as president-elect when he kicked reporters off his plane before heading to the transition-of-power meeting with President Barack Obama.
Buss said Trump has no experience in public office and doesn’t seem to grasp the importance of having a free press working to keep the public informed.
Panelist Rich Egger feels reporters did a good job during the campaign of reporting on what was said and providing context. But he said Trump received a lot more media attention than his opponents, especially during the Republican primary process, and that helped his campaign.
Buss said reporters spent too much time on Trump’s outlandish remarks and not enough on the issues.
Ahl wishes the media would stop reporting on polls. He said most media outlets chase after poll stories like a dog after meat.
Egger said poll stories are easy to report and help fill time on around-the-clock news stations but he would like to see more resources devoted to journalism.
