The following article was posted on the trumpaccountable.org website June 28, 2017:
During a testy exchange yesterday at the first on-camera White House press briefing in a week, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was challenged by a reporter who accused her of “inflaming everybody right here right now.” Brian Karem, editor of the Montgomery County Sentinel called out Sanders for her response to a question about the firing of three CNN employees for a retracted story that did not meet CNN’s journalistic standards. Karem’s frustration and complaint was that there are consequences in the real world of journalism for shoddy work that does not meet ethical standards while the world of the White House Press Office has no similar consequences or standards.
The press secretary clearly wants to talk about the successes and stories that reflect what the Trump administration is working on. It should not be surprising, however, that the media wants to talk about other stories. This is the fundamental challenge in any communications shop and no PR workshop or textbook encourages a communications director to scold media outlets for pursuing unflattering stories. The most skilled communications professionals are able to expertly advance the narratives they want emphasized while downplaying the narratives they don’t want on the front page. Continue reading “Inflaming Fake News”