Donald Trump returns re-energised to the White House
The new US president has fought a ferocious battle with the media, and he seems to be winning, says STEVE SAMPSON
The Washington Post carries a simple motto “Democracy Dies In Darkness”. The paper which risked it all uncovering Watergate, standing up against a corrupt President Nixon who threatened to destroy the paper and its owners. It won gloriously and forever burnished the newspaper’s reputation. And yes – protected democracy.
The paper has won 68 Pulitzer Prizes. The last in 2022 for its coverage of events around the storming of the United States Capitol Buildings – where a mob of Trump supporters tried to launch a coup d’etat. The paper’s editorial line has been to pursue him for criminality, including corruption.
If all of that was its defining glory, then the extraordinary Presidential campaign that just ended with Donald Trump’s victory is possibly one of its darkest. The Post’s reputation as a bastion of Press freedom lies at best seriously tarnished. For others, including its staff and many readers, is in tatters.
Trump hates the media and he is going to make revenge his mission – and for him that’s a dish served volcano-hot and in endless quantities. The media who ganged up against him are right in his crosshairs. His acceptance speech was riddled with anti-media threats referring to “the enemy camp”, singling out CNN and MSN. It is all part of his running battle with the “crooked media”, the “enemies of the people”.
Which brings us back to The Washington Post. The Graham family famously ran the paper with its own cash, in every sense a family affair. But the commercial realities of the digital age made that impossible to sustain with mounting losses and disintegrating historic revenues. They parcelled the paper off to Amazon zillionaire Jeff Bezos for a cut-price $250 million.
The trouble came with Bezos axing an editorial decision to back Kamala Harris at the 11th hour when he learned – late in the day – that his paper was putting him slap bang against the eventual winner. Why? For ideological reasons or down and dirty commercial ones?
Whatever his reason, senior editorial staff exited the building and hundreds of thousands of loyal readers cancelled their subscriptions. Financially, a drop in the bucket for Bezos. For the paper? Who is going to give anything it does for the next four years any credibility? And more.
It matters to us in the UK as well. Boris Johnson will see Trump’s victory as proof that there is life after rejection. If anything we will see and hear even more from the great shaggy buffoon than ever. And also moreof Nigel Farage, Trump’s favourite Brit.
I’m not sure newspapers should be stepping into “It Was The Sun Wot Won It” territory anyway. Are Washington Post readers so dense they need to be told how to vote, rather than read the arguments daily?
I worked for The Sun where Murdoch made it clear, very clear, where he wanted the paper to stand. The readers knew and so did the politicians. Which is why they sucked up to us. But that was long ago. X owner, the right wing activist and billionaire Elon Musk, arguably carries far more influence – because he allows fake news to pollute his social channel. Zuckerberg does the same at Facebook. They are the true playground bullies of the media.
So don’t rely on Ben Bradlee’s Washington Post to keep a focus on Trump. How long before we see a smiling Mr Bezos in The Oval Office?
Steve Sampson is a former Assistant, Northern and Scottish Editor of The Sun newspaper, and a Director of Trinity Mirror publications. He was a launch presenter of Radio5 Live, founder of First Press Publishing and contributes to the BBC. He is an investor/owner across a series of digital initiatives, and a media adviser. He lists “Diplomacy” as a speciality.
Good article by my brilliant friend and if I can add my two cents worth it is to say that the pollsters were dismal. Totally outclassed by the bookies.but they usually are.