“The number of countries in the last 10 years that have gone from democracy to authoritarianism is getting faster and faster,” Bernstein said. “We have to cover it, even if it’s not sexy.”
Jodie Ginsberg, chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, noted how vital a free press is to democracy. Over the past 20 years, this role has been threatened by increasing political polarization and the spread of authoritarianism worldwide.
“They are also increasing their verbal attacks on the press,” Ginsberg said of the anti-democratic forces taking root around the world. “They discredit the press, because discrediting the press allows them to avoid scrutiny.”
Authoritarians know they have to convince the public that the press is the enemy in order to stay in power, said Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
“The important thing is not to be fooled,” he warned.
To keep democracy thriving, Goldberg said journalists must report the truth clearly and fearlessly, and do a better job of explaining the role the industry plays to outsiders.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution, “the foremost icons of democracy 200 years ago, spoke of the necessity of a free press,” Goldberg said. “And we have to educate people about the necessity of what we’re doing for democracy to work.”
But Stelter questioned whether the media today is meeting the moment and shining a bright enough light on the current threats to democratic ideals.
Goldberg admitted that The Atlantic, along with many other outlets, has been “slow” to respond to radical changes in American political norms over the past six or seven years. He recalled how his publication hesitated to use the word “racist” to describe Donald Trump’s inflammatory statements, instead using descriptors such as “racist rhetoric.”
“Finally, you realize, you know what, you’ve got to speak plainly and you’ve got to speak directly and call things like they are,” Goldberg said.
But even as the media plays catch-up, the industry needs to be open about its true purpose.
“We’ve become vulnerable because we assume everyone understands who we are, what we do, why we do it and how we do it,” Goldberg said.
NPR TV critic Eric Deggans, speaking about the future of CNN, noted that many viewers put a political lens over reporting that is actually about preserving democracy and holding politicians accountable.
“When you have a politician who denounces the press as the enemy of the people, when you have a politician who insists he won an election he didn’t win, when you have a politician who unfairly blamed immigrants for America’s ills, we have to have a journalistic apparatus that he is free to invoke these excesses without fear of being accused of wrongdoing,” Deggans said.
He added that he hopes CNN avoids creating a “false equivalence” by comparing the state of the country’s two political parties. Deggans said he hopes not to see the “normal dysfunction” of one party balanced against the extremism of the other.
“I also worry that it’s going to be hard to keep viewers if all you’re doing is just giving them clues,” Deggans said. “They do need context. They do need free and fearless exploration.”
