In his farewell address to the nation, former President Joe Biden said, “Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens our entire democracy.”
Was Biden right? Currently, President Trump and his administration are facing several accusations of violating the Constitution. At the same time, corporations and billionaires that own media outlets are becoming increasingly friendly towards the president and his administration.
This has led many journalists and law practitioners to feel like their values are being compromised.
On Feb. 26, David Shipley, head opinions editor at The Washington Post, stepped down after owner Jeff Bezos announced that opinion articles will only focus on supporting “the pillars of free markets and personal liberties.”
This change came after the last election where, for the first time in 30 years and under another direct order from Jeff Bezos, the Post did not offer a presidential endorsement, a decision that caused three editorial board members to immediately resign.
Jeff Bezos is currently the third richest person in the world. The original owners of the Washington Post sold the paper in 2013 due to financial concerns. They said they had lost 44% of revenue in the six years prior.
Over 10 years ago, the Post published its own article about the sale saying they were “caught, unable to escape the financial turmoil that has engulfed newspapers and other ‘legacy’ media.” They justified the sale to Bezos as a chance to revive the paper and a financial opportunity they could not pass up.
Today, large corporations have control over most legacy media outlets. Disney owns ABC News and Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN, and Paramount Global owns CBS. The open ties between the wealthiest in America to free speech and the Trump administration have left many journalists and politicians concerned.
“We have seen clear examples of corporate owners of journalism outlets caving to the Trump administration,” Chris Bury, former ABC News Nightline correspondent and senior journalist in residence at DePaul, said.
One example Bury mentioned is Paramount Global’s attempt to settle with President Donald Trump over a Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview. Trump claims that the interview was unfairly edited to benefit the Harris campaign. Bury said Paramount Global pursuing a settlement “is not a journalistic decision but a corporate one because Paramount Global is seeking federal approval for a merger with Skydance Media.”
Bury also cited Disney’s choice to settle with Trump after he sued over a George Stephanopoulos statement made on ABC News. Bury said many lawyers believe the case would have been an easy win, but Disney likely settled to avoid a drawn-out public battle with Trump and associated legal fees.
It’s not just the media that is facing pressure from the Trump administration. The Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The move led to multiple lawyers, including Danielle Sassoon, the U.S. attorney general for the southern district of New York, to resign. She called it “a breathtaking and dangerous precedent.”
Student journalists are also worried about the media and political environment.
Caleb Tobin, a senior at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and editor-in-chief of the school’s student newspaper, The Summit, said that, while he is not discouraged, he is “definitely alarmed.”
“The White House, for example, barred The Associated Press from events because it still reported ‘Gulf of Mexico’ instead of ‘Gulf of America,’” he said.
“To me, it is worrying to see our own government punishing media outlets because they disagree with the outlets’ speech,” Tobin said.
Tobin is also worried about where people are getting the news from. He said the distrust in legacy media has led to people searching for news on social media platforms such as X and Instagram.
“The end result is you have a lot of people consuming content from these influencers and commentators who are presenting biased content so people are often not getting the full story or factual information,” Tobin said.
The owners of X and Instagram, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, were both in attendance at Trump’s inauguration alongside Jeff Bezos. Musk donated $200 million dollars to the Trump campaign and is a vocal supporter. Trump also said Musk is the head of DOGE, a controversial government agency that has been making sweeping cuts leading to many layoffs in the public sector.
Professor Hibbard, chair of DePaul’s political science department and former congressional legislator, believes it’s just a matter of time before the American people have had enough of the current administration’s priorities.
“When the impact of significant cuts to the social safety net hits, mid-America attitudes will significantly change,” Hibbard said.
In the meantime, Hibbard says journalists and universities have a responsibility to stand their ground regardless of the challenges they face.
“Reporters have to push back,” Hibbard said. “Universities have to push back. To maintain our own integrity.”
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