The Boston Globe has enlisted the editorial boards of more than 100 newspapers nationwide to publish op-eds on August 16 denouncing what it is calling President Donald Trump’s “dirty war against the free press.”
“We are not the enemy of the people,” said The Globe’s deputy manager Marjorie Pritchard, referring to the POTUS’ characterization of journalists, the press and mainstream media.
Journalist David Beard reported Sunday that, “At least 128 newspapers have committed to running editorials Thursday against Trump’s ‘dirty war’ on the press.” Among those publications participating thus far are Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle and Denver Post, along with weekly papers with small circulations. Pritchard said she expects the list to grow.
Media groups like the American Society of News Editors and regional groups like the New England Newspaper and Press Association are promoting the effort, appealing to editorial boards to put aside their personal political views and stand united against the president’s anti-press rhetoric.
“Our words will differ. But at least we can agree that such attacks are alarming,” the plea reads.
Pritchard’s decision to coordinate a collective response from newspapers across the country came after the president kicked up his attack on the media on August 2 during a rally for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. There, he again called out the “fake, fake, disgusting news” and asked the crowd, “What ever happened to the free press? What ever happened to honest reporting? They don’t report it. They only make up stories.”
Pritchard hopes the publishing of editorials “would educate readers to realize that an attack on the First Amendment is unacceptable.”
“We are a free and independent press,” she said. “It is one of the most sacred principles enshrined in the Constitution.”