There was a knock on the door…
President Trump, Sen. Cramer, our local legislators, and many others regularly rant about “fake news” and sneer that the media is the “enemy of the people.” These anti-press chants don’t come with a disclaimer or an asterisk clarifying that the insults only apply to certain corporate or national media. Local news sources and reporters are absolutely included in those remarks, and every day you can see the vitriol and the shouts of “fake news” that are thrown at local reporters by supporters of this narrative. At the same time, opinion writers and TV talking heads are increasingly held up as the sources for REAL news. That’s not an accident, it’s on purpose.
I have issues with how profit driven our national media options are, and concerns about how a handful of people own most of the outlets. Local media outlets aren’t perfect either, of course, and can also be influenced by profit. But the constant anti-press rhetoric isn’t merely a talking point, it’s a strategy. If the general public is convinced they can’t ever believe the press, then those in power have one less obstacle to controlling the narrative. As those enemy of the people rants, sneers, and vitriol get louder and louder, remember this story from the 2019 ND Legislative Session.
Earlier this week, local reporters from the Forum and the AP discovered that a House Appropriations Subcommittee tasked with handling the budget of the Department of Human Services (one of the State’s largest budgets), was holding an official meeting in the Capitol with the head of DHS in a locked room with a keypad. The meeting was scheduled to be held in their regular committee room, but they were nowhere to be found at the scheduled time. Reporters found the locked room, knocked on the door, and reported that they weren’t exactly given a warm welcome.
This isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s happened in other legislative sessions with legislators, as well as with other ND elected leaders and bodies. It’s a case of Schrodinger’s officials: they are so wise and thoroughly informed that they can swiftly dismiss any testimony they don’t like from experts and citizens during hearings, and even weaken the ability of the public to engage in direct democracy to give themselves more authority. But at the same time, we continue to see long serving officials use this “Aww, shucks, I didn’t know, it’s no big deal, nothing to see here” innocence routine when they are (repeatedly) busted for violating long standing open meetings laws.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
Article IV. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Current through November 2018 Election
All sessions of the legislative assembly, including the committee of the whole and meetings of legislative committees, must be open and public.
N.D. Const. art. IV § 14
Rep. Jon Nelson is the Chairperson of this subcommittee. He said that this incident “isn’t a devious situation,” and that they “needed to focus on what we were talking about. There’s not many places you can go in the Capitol and go and do that.” Nelson also said the meeting was open to the public, they didn’t choose the room because of the keypad lock on the door, and that they just “didn’t want to be bothered.”
Rep. Chet Pollert, the House Majority Leader who has chaired this subcommittee in the past, said that “It’s no big deal.” He also said he was told by former Majority Leader Al Carlson that holding meetings in this way was not illegal. Pollert even added that he had used this locked room for meetings like this multiple times before this incident.
Of course, we don’t know for sure what’s in these legislators’ hearts and minds, and if this was a one time deal, maybe it wouldn’t be so remarkable. But it’s a part of a broader pattern of disregard for government transparency and the role of the free press.
An attack on the power and freedom of the press is an attack on the power and freedom of the people. Without reporters at the Capitol pushing to expose these violations and attempts to hide public work from the public, how we would even know it’s happening? If we didn’t have media groups fighting at the Capitol every day, do you think we’d have such strong open meetings/records laws in North Dakota to begin with?
Who benefits when the press is delegitimized and/or denied access? Who benefits when elected leaders can find a “quiet place” and “not be bothered” by the press or their constituents whenever they feel like it? It’s not you, and it’s not me, and it’s certainly not democracy.
Without the monitoring of government functions, like city commission meetings, routine legislative hearings/subcommittee meetings, and the general work of the government that is supposed to be serving the public, how would stories like this come to be?
The monitoring is key. A robust press can’t just be reactive, it can’t just wait until an issue or incident grows enough on its own to reach the public, or rely solely on anonymous tips to uncover scandalous anecdotes. Here in North Dakota, we have several big names in the media, who often make headlines for their rhetoric. We need to make sure that we and our neighbors understand that they aren’t reporters. They aren’t expected to adhere to established journalistic ethics and standards. Their hot takes and opinions on things are not news, but commentary, often with an intention to inflame or further an ideology. There is a place for that, but it cannot take the place of actual reporters doing the daily grind of watching the government.
When it comes to these big names, we need to be asking ourselves, what masters do they serve? Do they ever pose a legitimate threat to or demand true accountability of those in power? Do they seem more motivated by fame or power than they are by a commitment to accuracy? Are they speaking truth to power, or are they just a mouthpiece for the powerful? What doors are THEY knocking on?
Journalism and a free press is about knocking on those locked doors without knowing what will happen, or how you’ll be treated when it opens. We should stop constantly rewarding and overly focusing on prominent media figures who merely observe, react and make headlines, no matter their political viewpoint, and start standing up for the people who do the not always glamorous, often overlooked, and constitutionally crucial, everyday work of journalism.
Also, it’s not just the responsibility of news outlets to support the traditional functions of the media either, we as consumers need to express more interest in and support for factual reporting with our local media, and less desire to read rants by people with whom we may agree politically.
If we continue to sit back as the press at all levels is smeared as wholly dishonest and the enemy of the people, how long will it be before there are no more actual reporters at the Capitol, or Congress, or the White House? How long before there isn’t anyone left to knock on those locked doors?
My fear is we’re much closer than we realize.
”In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.”
Hugo L. Black, (New York Times Company v. United States, 1971)
Useful links:
Forum reporter John Hageman’s coverage of the locked room meeting:
The AP reporter James MacPherson’s coverage of the locked room meeting:
https://www.apnews.com/57005d5674fc4f34baa1aa41a55fe162
https://www.apnews.com/89f902d67afd4e689904981577a993cb
More information on journalistic ethics and standards:
A few of the many local ND journalists to consider following on Twitter:
James MacPherson, Associated Press @MacPhersonJA
John Hageman, Forum News Service @jhageman_
Amy Dalrymple, Bismarck Tribune @byamydalrymple
Blair Emerson, Bismarck Tribune @BlairvEmerson
Jack Dura, Bismarck Tribune @JackFromNoDak
Soap Box 701 