Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, nearly a decade ago. For many UMKC students, the second half of their lives have been plagued with Trump’s attack on the press. He has advanced his attacks further during his second term.
The Trump Administration has denounced the Associated Press Stylebook -a collection of suggestions and guidelines for journalistic writing- and has blocked AP reporters from entering the Oval Office due to their use of the now taboo title of “the Gulf of Mexico.” So, what does this mean for you?
It means if Trump gets what he wants, the information you read on the news will be written to remove objectivity. Stories will cater to certain political ideologies. It would also mean the removal of journalistic standards and lead to an even more polarizing news feed in today’s country.
What the Trump Administration is directly targeting is the language of how you receive your information. Trump’s attack on AP has been the most egregious. In early February, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich stated AP is “weaponizing language through their stylebook to push a partisan worldview.”
The weaponized language she is referring to is formatting suggestions. Specifically, capitalization of the word Black but not white in a racial context, respecting transgender individual’s gender identity and not using the term illegal immigrant.
President Trump takes issue with using neutral language when discussing sensitive topics. This administration believes that reporting stemming from empathy, facts and truth means it has a left-leaning woke agenda.
What needs to be considered is that all of these terms are referring to people that have actual lives and have been historically marginalized. It is a journalist’s job to remain objective. Using neutral language creates that objectivity. But the White House has gone so far right, neutrality and empathy to minority groups is seen as left-leaning policy.
Journalists should not cave into this pressure. They shouldn’t cater to Trump either to ease his rage. AP has spent a great deal of time and thought to come up with this language to remain unbiased. If a party is still offended by it, that burden should be on them and not on AP.
Trump has yet to take any direct action against the AP stylebook. He has just barred AP reporters from entering the Oval Office for now.
For more information, check out the articles written by Axios, The New Republic and The Guardian about his new remarks and actions against the media.
cygf8b@umsystem.edu
