Former President John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.) served America as its 35th elected Commander-in-Chief before having his life cut short by an assassin’s bullet in 1963. But, before tragedy struck the nation, Kennedy shared his thoughts on why a free, independent press was vital to the survival and growth of any free society.
It’s not to say that JFK didn’t have his issues with the media, although many considered his treatment by the media to be quite favorable compared to other presidents. However, an associate close to the former president paints a more complex picture of his relationship with the press corps. Long-time speechwriter, Theordore Sorensen, in his biography Kennedy, wrote:
“He both assisted and resented the press corps as they dogged his every footstep. He had an inexhaustible capacity to take displeasure from what he read … and an equally inexhaustible capacity to keep on reading more than anyone else in Washington.”
“He [Kennedy] regarded [journalists] as his natural friends and newspapers as his natural enemies. He was more concerned about a news column read by thousands than a newscast viewed by millions. …
“He always expected certain writers and publications to be inconsistent and inaccurate, but was always indignant when they were. …
“He had an abhorrence of public relations gimmicks, but was always acutely aware of what impression he was making. …
“[H]e worried more about [New York Times] editorials than those of a dozen [other] newspapers combined. But he could not understand how its editors could agree with 90 percent of his program and still write what at times seemed to him 90 percent unfavorable editorials.
“‘I’m convinced,’ he said after calling me early one morning about a particularly snide piece, ‘that they keep in stock a canned editorial on our ‘lack of leadership’ and run it every few weeks with little change.'”
It’s not unusual for the press to have a “honeymoon” period with a popular incoming president. After his death, his widow Jacqueline Kennedy described her husband’s administration as “Camelot.” Since then, the press, as well as many Americans, have come to remember JFK’s presidency as a modern American fairy tale. And while the truth is far less flattering, JFK’s political sainthood has remained intact despite some dark revelations about his private and public life.
One of the reasons why JFK earns so much respect from both Republicans and Democrats was his intelligence mixed with his brilliant communication skills.
During one interview, the president perfectly outlined the incredible importance of America’s independent press, despite by his own admission as to not always being pleased by their coverage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qp-d92Oi-8
Kennedy also delivered a very popular speech in 1961 titled “The President and the Press,” in which he outlined in greater detail the importance of the news media’s role in providing a crucial check to the power of the federal government by speaking truth to power. Here’s an excerpt:
‘It is the unprecedented nature of this challenge that also gives rise to your second obligation–an obligation which I share. And that is our obligation to inform and alert the American people–to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well–the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.
No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding, and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.
I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers–I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors, and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed–and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment– the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”–but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.
This means greater coverage and analysis of international news–for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security–and we intend to do it.’
When you compare Kennedy’s eloquent and profound understanding of the media’s role as a critic and sometimes antagonist of a president, and his (and someday her) administration to the attitude taken by current President Donald Trump, it’s almost impossible not to be blown away by the size of the tremendous gulf between these two presidents. During his presidential campaign and short time as president, Trump has made no secret of his utter disdain for the press and their uncooperative and unflattering narratives.
Both Trump and his administration have even officially created an “alternative” universe for themselves and their loyal supporters, in which the facts are what they deem them to be. He’s even coined the phrase “fake news” to combat unfavorable coverage and information that discredits him and his administration. Before a crowd which took delight in the media bashing, Trump said:
“I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. It’s phony, fake. I called the fake news the enemy of the people. They are the enemy of the people, because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none.”
Recently Trump, during a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), once again proved that he’s nowhere near filling the shoes of a president like JFK. And, in his typical hypocritical fashion, Trump went on to complain about the media’s use of “anonymous sources,” stating that they should not be allowed to use them. During Trump’s 15-minute tirade against the press he stated:
“A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are, they are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none.”
“I’m not against the media, I’m not against the press, I don’t mind bad stories if I deserve them. And I tell you I love good stories, but I don’t get too may of them. But I am only against the fake news media or press.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGeXFGlLJ84
It’s interesting how Trump didn’t seem to have much of a problem with anonymous sources when they were attacking former Secretary Hillary Clinton during the campaign by releasing hundreds of unsubstantiated private emails. Nor did he have a problem with using them himself when citing fake statistics and lies. In fact, he’s well known for using the term, “people are saying” when referring to the source of his erroneous information.
Sadly America has gone from Camelot to a clown circus. And now the best Americans can hope for is that the clown in the Oval Office doesn’t take our country down with him when he finally slips and falls on his final self-made banana peel.
Featured image via The Week and YouTube.
