We, not you, decide how best to serve our readers: CJR editor to Trump

Days ahead of his inauguration as United States President, the American Press Corps on Wednesday made it clear to Donald Trump that he cannot "dictate" to them and that "we, not you, decide how best to serve our readers, listeners, and viewers."

"In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American Press Corps," Kyle Pope, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review, said in an open letter to Trump.

In the op-ed 'An open letter to Trump from the US press corps' published on Wednesday in CJR, Pope says that the relationship between the media and the President-elect are strained. 

"Reports over the last few days that your press secretary is considering pulling news media offices out of the White House are the latest in a pattern of behaviour that has persisted throughout the campaign: You’ve banned news organisations from covering you," he said.

Pope insists that while Trump is within his rights to decide his ground rules for engaging with the press, the media too has some.

"It is, after all, our airtime and column inches that you are seeking to influence. We, not you, decide how best to serve our readers, listeners, and viewers. So think of what follows as a backgrounder on what to expect from us over the next four years," he wrote on behalf of American journalists.

In an eight point charter, Pope told Trump he might decide that giving reporters access to his administration has no upside.

"We think that would be a mistake on your part, but again, it's your choice. We are very good at finding alternative ways to get information; indeed, some of the best reporting during the campaign came from news organisations that were banned from your rallies," he said.

"We may agree to speak to some of your officials off the record, or we may not. We may attend background briefings or off-the-record social events, or we may skip them. That's our choice. If you think reporters who don't agree to the rules, and are shut out, won’t get the story, see above," he said.

He said that it is the media which will decide how much airtime to give to his spokespeople and surrogates.

The American media believes that there is an objective truth, and it will hold him to that, he cautioned Trump.

"We'll obsess over the details of government. You and your staff sit in the White House, but the American government is a sprawling thing. We will fan reporters out across the government, embed them in your agencies, source up those bureaucrats. The result will be that while you may seek to control what comes out of the West Wing, we'll have the upper hand in covering how your policies are carried out," he wrote.

Pope, however, credited Trump with highlighting serious and widespread distrust in the media across the political spectrum.

"Your campaign tapped into that, and it was a bracing wake-up call for us. We have to regain that trust. And we'll do it through accurate, fearless reporting, by acknowledging our errors and abiding by the most stringent ethical standards we set for ourselves," he said.

Accusing Trump of dividing the media, Pope said the American media will work together and in the best-case scenario, Trump can be inside the White House for eight years.

"We’ve been around since the founding of the republic, and our role in this great democracy has been ratified and reinforced again and again and again. You have forced us to rethink the most fundamental questions about who we are and what we are here for. For that we are most grateful," Pope said.

IMAGE: Donald Trump argues with CNN's Jim Acosta during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City on January 11. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters