During a May 1962 news conference, President John F. Kennedy was asked to comment on the media’s treatment of his administration after 16 months in office.
7 Months Ago
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"Well," he said, "I’m reading more and enjoying it less."
That response, while reflecting quintessential JFK wit, showed that he had difficult times with the press like every president before him. Although JFK’s sense of humor made him likable, many journalists regularly called him to account.
What made JFK’s relationship with the press unique was that as a voracious reader of the news and as the first president to regularly conduct live televised press conferences, he understood the necessity of a free press, the so-called "fourth estate," in American democracy.
In 1963, NBC’s Sander Vanocur asked Kennedy to expound on his "reading more, enjoying it less" remark.
"I think (the press) is invaluable, even though … it is never pleasant to be reading things that are not agreeable news," he said. "But I would say that it is an invaluable arm of the presidency, as a check really on what is going on in the administration, and more things come to my attention that cause me concern or give me information.
"So I would think that (Russian Premier) Nikita Khrushchev operating a totalitarian system, which has many advantages as far as being able to move in secret, and all the rest — there is a terrific disadvantage not having the abrasive quality of the press applied to you daily, to an administration, even though we never like it, and even though we wish they didn’t write it, and even though we disapprove, there isn’t any doubt that we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press."
Here we are, more than 50 years later, with President Donald Trump, Kennedy’s opposite when it comes to a free press.
Trump adviser Stephen Bannon labeled the media the "opposition party." He said we should keep our mouths shut and listen to the new administration. This point of view, which may guide policy, is straight out of the totalitarian tradition and un-American.
As many of my colleagues have written, we should not swallow the White House’s bait and get ourselves unhinged by playing the losing game of tit-for-tat. I see Bannon’s crude salvo as a challenge for us, especially opinion writers, to become more dispassionate in everything we write.
I vividly recall the information-gathering and gumshoe lessons I learned as a student at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. We were taught to "always get the record," to never totally trust what politicians or other important people said. Show respect for their positions, yes, but be skeptical of their words and motives and pay special attention to their deeds. Go to the courthouse and city hall and other places that held public documents. Find the truth on our own.
In that light, I see Bannon’s labeling us the "opposition party" as a challenge to work harder, a challenge for us to fulfill the four essential roles of a free press. Ellen Hume, professor and founder of the Center on Media and Society at the University of Massachusetts Boston, outlines these roles: "holding government leaders accountable to the people; publicizing issues that need attention; educating citizens so they can make informed decisions; and connecting people with each other in a civil society."
We still are the "fourth estate," the watchdog. It is the duty of a free press in a democratic society to be "very, very active," as President Kennedy said.
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