NEW YORK — President Trump’s White House is taking on the role of media critic and asking for help from “everyday Americans.”
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the White House launched a web portal it says will spotlight bias on the part of news outlets, targeting the Boston Globe, CBS News and The Independent as its inaugural “media offender of the week.”
It’s the latest wrinkle in the fight against what Trump, back in his first term, labeled “fake news.” The Republican president has taken outlets like CBS News and The Wall Street Journal to court over their coverage, is fighting the Associated Press in court over media access and has moved to dismantle government-run outlets like Voice of America.
Trump has also engaged in personal attacks, last month alone saying “quiet, piggy,” to a female reporter who was questioning him on Air Force One, calling a reporter from The New York Times “ugly, both inside and out” and publicly telling an ABC News journalist she was “a terrible reporter.”
“It’s honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all and to constantly have to defend against this fake news and these attacks,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called the new web portal an attempt to hold journalists accountable.
After its debut, the White House asked for volunteers to submit their own examples of media bias. “So-called ‘journalists’ have made it impossible to identify every false or misleading story, which is why help from the American people is essential,” Trump’s press office said.
Despite the attacks, Axios wrote this week that the mainstream media is ending the year as “dominant as ever” in capturing the president’s attention and setting Washington’s agenda, citing as one example The Washington Post’s reporting on military strikes against boats with alleged drug smugglers.
The irony is that Trump engages with reporters at a level he hasn’t seen with any other president in his lifetime, said Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, co-author of the report with Mike Allen.
“He’s always bitched about the media and the press,” VandeHei told The Associated Press. “He gobbles this stuff up like hot McDonald’s french fries. He’s a mass consumer of this. He watches it, he calls reporters, he takes calls from reporters. … That’s always been the contradiction with him.”
The first media “honorees” were criticized for stories about Trump’s reaction to Democratic lawmakers who recorded a video reminding military members they were not required to follow unlawful orders. Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by death.”
The White House said it was a misrepresentation to say Trump had called for their executions. The portal also said news outlets “subversively implied” that the president had issued illegal orders. The news articles they cited did not specifically say whether Trump had or had not ordered illegal activities.
The new portal also contains an “Offender Hall of Shame” of articles it deems unfair and a leaderboard ranking outlets with the most pieces they object to. Twenty-one outlets are represented, led by The Washington Post’s five stories. CBS News and MS NOW, the network formerly known as MSNBC, had four apiece. No news outlets that appeal to conservatives were cited for bias.
Responded a Post spokeswoman: “The Washington Post is proud of its accurate, rigorous journalism.”
The conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, which has accused news outlets of having a liberal bias since 1987, welcomes the company.
“We’re pleased,” said Tim Graham, MRC’s director of media analysis. “It’s a stronger effort than Republican presidents have done before. I think all Republicans realize today that the media is on the other side and need to be identified as on the other side.”
VandeHei said about the portal, “I can’t think of anything I care less about. If they want to set up a site and point out bias, great. It’s called free speech. Do it. I don’t think it makes a damned bit of difference.”
What is damaging is a constant drumbeat of claims that what people read in the media is false. “It makes people suspicious of the truth and the country suffers when we’re not operating from some semblance of a common truth,” VandeHei said.
Bauder writes for the Associated Press.
ABC News correspondent Mat Gutman heads to CBS
Matt Gutman, a longtime ABC News correspondent based in Los Angeles, is leaving the network for a high profile role at CBS News.
Gutman will be the first significant on-air hire by Bari Weiss, who was named editor in chief of CBS News in October, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly. Gutman did not respond to a request for comment.
While there has been speculation Gutman is being considered for the anchor job at “CBS Evening News,” he is said to be joining the network as a correspondent. CBS has yet to name a replacement for the evening news anchor desk following the planned departures of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois later this month.
Gutman’s contract was up at ABC News, which did not counter the offer from CBS, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Gutman joined ABC News in 2008 as a radio correspondent. He has been chief national correspondent on the TV side since 2018. He began his career at the Jerusalem Post, covering the West Bank.
Gutman won journalism awards for his work on the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas and the 2018 rescue mission of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. He also reported extensively from Israel for 18 months after Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and covered the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January.
Gutman was suspended by ABC in early 2020 after he erroneously reported on-air that all four of Kobe Bryant’s daughters were on board the helicopter that crashed and killed the NBA icon and eight others. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in the accident in Calabasas. The others were not aboard.
Gutman apologized for the error and later attributed the mistake to a panic attack that occurred while on air. He wrote a book in 2023 about getting over his long struggle with anxiety and panic attacks.
Gutman recently faced criticism for his coverage of the investigation into the shooting death of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. In an ABC News report, Gutman read the texts between the alleged shooter Tyler Robinson and his transgender roommate, describing the messages as “very touching in a way we did not expect.”
Harsh social media reaction to the comments prompted Gutman to apologize. “Yesterday I tried to underscore the jarring contrast between this cold blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk — a man who dedicated his life to public dialogue — and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney at the press conference. I deeply regret that my words did not make that clear.”
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Another line of attack: White House sets up a hall of shame for news outlets
NEW YORK — President Trump’s White House is taking on the role of media critic and asking for help from “everyday Americans.”
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the White House launched a web portal it says will spotlight bias on the part of news outlets, targeting the Boston Globe, CBS News and The Independent as its inaugural “media offender of the week.”
It’s the latest wrinkle in the fight against what Trump, back in his first term, labeled “fake news.” The Republican president has taken outlets like CBS News and The Wall Street Journal to court over their coverage, is fighting the Associated Press in court over media access and has moved to dismantle government-run outlets like Voice of America.
Trump has also engaged in personal attacks, last month alone saying “quiet, piggy,” to a female reporter who was questioning him on Air Force One, calling a reporter from The New York Times “ugly, both inside and out” and publicly telling an ABC News journalist she was “a terrible reporter.”
“It’s honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all and to constantly have to defend against this fake news and these attacks,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called the new web portal an attempt to hold journalists accountable.
After its debut, the White House asked for volunteers to submit their own examples of media bias. “So-called ‘journalists’ have made it impossible to identify every false or misleading story, which is why help from the American people is essential,” Trump’s press office said.
Despite the attacks, Axios wrote this week that the mainstream media is ending the year as “dominant as ever” in capturing the president’s attention and setting Washington’s agenda, citing as one example The Washington Post’s reporting on military strikes against boats with alleged drug smugglers.
The irony is that Trump engages with reporters at a level he hasn’t seen with any other president in his lifetime, said Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, co-author of the report with Mike Allen.
“He’s always bitched about the media and the press,” VandeHei told The Associated Press. “He gobbles this stuff up like hot McDonald’s french fries. He’s a mass consumer of this. He watches it, he calls reporters, he takes calls from reporters. … That’s always been the contradiction with him.”
The first media “honorees” were criticized for stories about Trump’s reaction to Democratic lawmakers who recorded a video reminding military members they were not required to follow unlawful orders. Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by death.”
The White House said it was a misrepresentation to say Trump had called for their executions. The portal also said news outlets “subversively implied” that the president had issued illegal orders. The news articles they cited did not specifically say whether Trump had or had not ordered illegal activities.
The new portal also contains an “Offender Hall of Shame” of articles it deems unfair and a leaderboard ranking outlets with the most pieces they object to. Twenty-one outlets are represented, led by The Washington Post’s five stories. CBS News and MS NOW, the network formerly known as MSNBC, had four apiece. No news outlets that appeal to conservatives were cited for bias.
Responded a Post spokeswoman: “The Washington Post is proud of its accurate, rigorous journalism.”
The conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, which has accused news outlets of having a liberal bias since 1987, welcomes the company.
“We’re pleased,” said Tim Graham, MRC’s director of media analysis. “It’s a stronger effort than Republican presidents have done before. I think all Republicans realize today that the media is on the other side and need to be identified as on the other side.”
VandeHei said about the portal, “I can’t think of anything I care less about. If they want to set up a site and point out bias, great. It’s called free speech. Do it. I don’t think it makes a damned bit of difference.”
What is damaging is a constant drumbeat of claims that what people read in the media is false. “It makes people suspicious of the truth and the country suffers when we’re not operating from some semblance of a common truth,” VandeHei said.
Bauder writes for the Associated Press.
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