Journalism

The first returns from Capitol Hill on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's response to President Trump's tweeted attacks on the press were not promising.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-HI) said, “This statement is better than nothing, but it is merely a reiteration of the FCC’s authorities under the law. What we needed is a full-throated defense of the independence of the FCC against political interference. When the president announced his intent to retaliate against a broadcaster based on content, the FCC should have rejected it.”

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said, "Chairman Pai was right to assure the public that the FCC cannot revoke any broadcast licenses based on the content of a specific newscast, but I am disappointed that the Chairman continues to remain silent on the President’s ongoing efforts to intimidate and threaten news outlets. The Chairman should therefore be prepared to commit—under oath, if necessary—that he will take no actions whatsoever to retaliate against news outlets in response to the President’s pressure.”

President Donald Trump continues to publicly belittle big media organizations as "fake news," but in Washington, his administration's moves are a boon to big media companies. Telecommunication and technology companies are being deregulated while smaller media companies worry about their ability to survive. On the campaign trail, populist Candidate Trump vowed to "break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies" and to shut down the biggest media deal of the year. But President Trump's administration has actually encouraged consolidation as part of its deregulatory blitz.

[Commentary] Internet’s unique ability to personalize and to create virtual communities of interest accelerated the decline of newspapers and television business models and altered the flow of information in ways that we are still uncovering. “Media” now means digital and cable, cool mediums that require hot performance. Trust in all media, including traditional media, is at an all-time low, and we’re just now beginning to grapple with the threat to democracy posed by this erosion of trust.

At Knight Foundation, we have long supported efforts to strengthen trust in news. Given the heightened challenge we face, Knight is ramping up our funding of these efforts, and we recently formed a new panel, the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy, to explore the broader challenges facing journalism and its role in civic life.

[Alberto Ibargüen is the CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation]

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai declined to criticize President Donald Trump’s attacks on broadcasters. In his first public appearance since President Trump tweeted that Comcast’s NBC and other broadcasters should lose their licenses for reporting “fake news,” Chairman Pai instead noted that his agency could not do what the president wanted. “Look, I will reiterate what I have said for many years at the FCC up to and including last month,” Chairman Pai said in an appearance at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “I believe in the First Amendment. The FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment. And under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.” Asked a second time more directly if he would block a broadcaster’s license application based on content, Pai said he would “stand with exactly what I’ve said last month and for years at the FCC.” Pai did not mention the president by name.

"Commissioner Pai's statement is a profile in cowardice," said Andrew Schwartzman, Benton Senior Counselor at the Institute for Public Representation, Georgetown Law Center. "Unlike his predecessors, who have forthrightly stood up to Presidential interference, he continues to equivocate. He needs to say that President Trump has no right to interfere in the FCC's licensing process and he will ignore the President's pressure."

Commissioner Michael O'Rielly of the Federal Communications Commission has now said that "politics" should not interfere with FCC decision-making, and that the agency should remain independent. Still, O'Rielly defended President Donald Trump's attacks on the media, saying the president has been treated poorly by journalists.

Commissioner O'Rielly was asked about President Trump's tweets during an appearance at a conference on spectrum management on Oct 13. "I'm pretty consistent on licensing and would not want politics to influence our decision-making," O'Rielly said. "I believe in the independence of the agency." But O'Rielly also said that Trump is "rightfully venting" about the media. "I think that the president is rightfully venting his experiences and disappointment with how the coverage has been occurring regarding his administration. I've been surprised how vitriolic that the coverage has been," O'Rielly said. "I think that President Clinton got better coverage during the middle of impeachment than President Trump is getting these days."

Google is creating an even more secure login process for users at high risk of online attacks. The new Advanced Protection feature focuses on defending against phishing, accidental sharing, and fraudulent access to accounts. The feature has been introduced for users such as journalists who need to protect their sources, or campaign staffers during an election.

The program will use Security Keys, which are small USB or wireless devices required to sign into accounts. Google says they’re the most secure version of two-step verification; they use public key cryptography and digital signatures to confirm a person’s identity. Security keys can be fiddly, so Google says they’re for users who don’t mind carrying them around, using the Chrome browser on desktop, and using Google apps, as the key won’t work with the iPhone’s mail, calendar, and contact apps.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is facing increasing pressure to distance himself from President Donald Trump’s threats against NBC — a course of action that would risk provoking the president’s Twitter-fueled wrath. Democrats have refused to let the issue die in recent days, with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel warning that “history won't be kind to silence" on Trump's threats to the First Amendment. Chairman Pai could confront public questions about the issue as soon as Oct 17 at a telecom law event in Washington, forcing him to choose between his longstanding defense of freedom of speech and the man who made him chairman. If Chairman Pai weighs in, he risks repeating the pattern of other Trump appointees whose words and actions have drawn the president's ire and imperiled their positions in the government.

“Ajit is in a really very awkward situation, but I assure you he is on our side — we being the people who generally believe in free speech,” said Berin Szóka, president of libertarian group TechFreedom, which supports Pai's FCC agenda. “I think it’s unfair to jump up and down and insist that if he doesn’t pick a fight with the president, he doesn’t really care about the First Amendment.” Szóka outlined several scenarios in which President Trump could act to retaliate if he doesn't like what the FCC chairman has to say. President Trump could demote Chairman Pai to commissioner and elevate another FCC Republican, Mike O’Rielly or Brendan Carr, to chairman, although Szóka noted that both are probably similar to Chairman Pai when it comes to their positions on the First Amendment. President Trump could also replace Commissioner O'Rielly with a "loyalist" and name that person chairman when the term is up in 2019.

Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined the growing number of Democratic lawmakers who are calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to disavow President Donald Trump’s calls to challenge certain media outlets’ broadcast licenses. Sen Blumenthal sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asking him to commit to not infringing on media outlets’ First Amendment rights.

“As FCC Chairman, sworn to uphold both the Constitution and the Communications Act, you have a duty to condemn this attack and reassure our nation and our journalists that you will stand up for them and protect and defend their fundamental freedoms," Sen Blumenthal wrote in a letter. “I ask for your unwavering commitment that you will ensure the First Amendment remains a cornerstone of our democracy and that you will not follow through on this direction from the President."

[Commentary] The tools of technology should strengthen, not weaken, democracy. To that end, we should require greater disclosure of the funders of online political advertisements. Tech firms also need to make heavy investments into weeding out fake accounts and false news. Even if tech companies do not adopt the journalistic standards of newspapers, they must offer readers, particularly students, some way of distinguishing fact from opinion. It’s heartening to see companies already making efforts to take some of these steps. Admitting their own shortcomings without delay and showing measurable progress will be key to earning the public’s trust.

Technology offers us hope for a new prosperity and understanding for this century. But it will take enlightened leadership. More than stock prices or product launches, Silicon Valley’s legacy will be defined by whether tech leaders step up to contribute to the larger American experiment.

President Donald Trump again denied allegations of sexual assault made against him before he took office, calling the claims "fake news" and "made-up stuff." “All I can say is it’s totally fake news — just fake. It’s fake, it’s made-up stuff. And it’s disgraceful what happens,” President Trump told reporters during an impromptu White House Rose Garden press conference. “That happens in the world of politics,” he added.

The president's remarks come after reports surfaced Oct 15 that lawyers for Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of groping her in 2007, issued a subpoena to his campaign for any records about “any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.”