The White House suspended the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after the reporter angered President Donald Trump during a news conference on November 7. CNN is suing Trump over the matter.
Shop Talk panelist Will Buss said Trump’s never-ending confrontational demeanor might have helped him get real estate deals done in Manhattan but it doesn’t work when interacting with reporters. He called Trump reckless and thin-skinned.
Buss said Acosta was simply trying to confirm comments made by the president. He said reporters strive to be accurate so politicians shouldn’t lash out when a journalist asks questions to double check information.
Panelist Rich Egger is certain conservatives would have been outraged if, for example, the Obama administration had revoked Fox News’ White House privileges – and he believes other news outlets also would have protested such a move.
Egger said Trump needs to get used to the idea that reporters will sometimes ask questions that make politicians uncomfortable. He said Trump needs to change his act during the remaining two-plus years of his term.
Panelist Jasmine Crighton said reporters are not being disrespectful when they ask questions to hold the powerful accountable – it’s their jobs to seek answers. She said the White House should stop trying to neuter the press.
And Crighton said this is not a partisan issue. She pointed out the Shop Talk crew and others criticized the Obama administration when it limited photojournalists’ access to the president.
Jasmine Crighton is News Director of NEWS3 at Western Illinois University and Will Buss is the Director of Student Publications at WIU.
