| Tell the media: Skip Trump’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner | |
The petition to major media outlets reads: Add your name:
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Dear Rev,
Donald Trump is waging a war on the First Amendment and the basic rights of a free press. Whenever the media reports the truth about his dangerous actions, Trump calls it “fake news,” calls his lies “alternative facts,” and says the media is deliberately misleading the public. He blacklists reporters and outlets he doesn’t like, and his chief strategist Steve Bannon recently told the media to “keep its mouth shut.”1 This is a chilling propaganda campaign by the Trump administration, and journalists have an obligation not to normalize his presidency, especially when their institution and our constitution are under daily attack. But the press plans to normalize Trump this April when members of the media elite and Hollywood celebrities converge on Washington for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This year’s dinner celebrating Trump’s presidency is antithetical to a free and fair press. Reporters and media outlets should boycott it. Tell the media: Skip Trump’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Click here to sign the petition. “Nerd Prom,” as Washington insiders affectionately refer to it, has morphed into a week-long event in the nation’s capital where journalists hobnob at fancy events with celebrities and lawmakers, blurring the line between the government and an independent press. By attending the dinner and other events celebrating the current presidency, the media is not only tacitly ignoring the attacks on their own accurate reporting, but also the myriad disgraceful and unconstitutional actions already taken by Trump and his administration. This presidency is not normal and the press should be holding Trump accountable, not rubbing elbows with him and his staff. Pressure on the media is already having an effect. Publications including "The New Yorker" and "Vanity Fair" have announced that they will not host their glitzy galas this year, and comedian Samantha Bee will host an alternative event to raise money for the Committee to Protect Journalists.2 We must keep up the pressure to ensure Trump’s dinner isn’t attended by any respectable media outlet. Tell the media: Skip Trump’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/ Thanks for all you do. Josh Nelson, Deputy Political Director Add your name: |
