US — #WeeklyAddress October 23 – October 29: CNN anchor receives death threats after addressing President on air

CNN correspondent Don Lemon has filed an aggravated harassment report with police following death threats he received from an anonymous Twitter user on the night of October 24. Although the Twitter account has since been deleted, reports have surfaced that the user's Twitter handle was @1jeff4trump2, and the bio referred to white nationalism, pro guns, and called its user a “heavily armed racist.” The messages to Lemon included racial epithets and threatened to stab him in the neck. The attack appeared to be a response to the anchor’s reading of an emotional open letter he penned to President Trump regarding his attacks on military widow Myeshia Johnson that same night. In his letter, Lemon pleaded, “You’re commander-in-chief, the President of the United States of America, the greatest country on Earth. Act like it.” The New York Police Department has opened an investigation and stated that this threat may be categorized as a hate crime.

Trump blames media for portraying him as “uncivil”

Before boarding Air Force One to Texas on October 25, President Trump held an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn to answer questions about his recent feuds with Senator Corker (R-TN), Senator Flake (R-AZ), Military widow Myeshia Johnson, and Congresswoman Wilson (D-FL). When asked by a reporter if he should “be more civil” to his critics, Trump responded by blaming the media for the perception that he is uncivil. “The press makes me more uncivil than I am,” the President said. “I went to an Ivy League college...I’m a very intelligent person. I think the press creates a different image of Donald Trump than the real person.” In July, President Trump tweeted a 28-second video in which he could be seen wrestling and violently punching a figure whose head was replaced by the CNN logo. In August, the president shared and then quickly deleted a cartoon of a “Trump train” running over a person with the CNN logo covering their face.

FCC relaxes regulations that could negatively impact local media

On Tuesday October 24, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to eliminate a regulation that required broadcasters to have a physical studio in or around the areas where they have licenses to transmit radio or TV signals. This regulation, adopted almost eighty years ago, provided for localized control over content and operations at the community level. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claimed that the regulation was restrictive, and stated that today’s “technology allows broadcast stations to produce local news even without a nearby studio.” With the rule’s elimination, consumer advocacy groups worry that large media companies now have the ability to buy out local media. One such example involves Sinclair Broadcasting Group, a conservative broadcasting company which is currently attempting to purchase Tribune Media, one of the largest television broadcasting companies in the US. This $3.9 billion deal would provide Sinclair with a whopping 233 new television stations, effectively expanding the platform for Sinclair’s chief political analyst, Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump aide whom Sinclair hired in April.

Former President claims media is harsher on Trump than any other President

President Trump sent out a tweet on October 28 praising former President Jimmy Carter for defending him against the “Fake News.”

Trump’s tweet follows the publication of an interview with the New York Times, where Carter defended the President against perceived attacks against his character, including reports on his mental state. In the interview, President Carter expressed concern that “[the press] feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation.” Dating back to the 2016 electoral campaign, the media has covered the topic of Trump’s mental health and fitness but that coverage has been through debates featuring medical professionals, testimony from lawmakers, and polling of the American public.

The United States ranks 43rd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index after falling 2 places in the last year.

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