The foreign press group Reporters Without Borders issued a report Friday slamming the treatment and access for journalists covering the Obama administration and the campaigns of 2016 presidential campaign frontrunners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald Trump.
Posted on its website, the short report focuses on Trump and reports that journalists have been “penned” and kept from the candidate.
#United States – US presidential election a rocky road for journalists https://t.co/TxCXMkwyv1
— RSF (@RSF_inter) January 29, 2016
“This carrot and stick approach with journalists is concerning, especially in the country of the first amendment, “said Delphine Halgand, RSF USA’s director. “In a democracy, politicians and presidential candidates should not dictate what is or is not good reporting. Donald Trump has brought his grudge-match with the media to an extremely dangerous level for freedom of the press.”
RSF stands for the “Reporters Sans Frontieres,” the official name of the French-based freedom of information group.
“Reporters Without Borders (RSF) examines the front-runners’ harsh treatment of the media,” it said in the report.
The group noted that American politics has a history of press-politician struggles.
“Such restrictions of press freedom throughout American history have both Democrat and Republican offenders. Trump’s attitude towards journalists who don’t portray him in a positive way is not so different from former president Richard Nixon who kept a documented list of ‘political enemies’ while in office, a number of whom were journalists,” said the group.
And for proof, they cited Clinton and Obama.
First Clinton:
Hillary Clinton’s treatment of the press has at times been on par with Trump’s, especially where the foreign press is concerned. In June, she denied a Daily Mail reporter access to the press pool on a New Hampshire trip. Journalists have also criticized the Clinton campaign’s refusal to provide sourcing for basic information. The Huffington Post described “the Clinton campaign’s long-running tensions with the press”, but noted this month that no incidents have occurred in the past six months.
And Obama:
These types of restrictions are not just limited to candidates running for office. Reporters have also criticized the current administration’s lack of transparency and predatory acts toward journalists throughout the presidency. These events during the run up to the 2016 presidential election mark an alarming trend of curtailing freedom of the press in the United States. Since 2013, the U.S.’s ranking on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index has fallen by 14 points. It is now ranked 49 out of 180 countries.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
