More than 300 newspapers across the country this week took the unusual step of publishing coordinated edtorials, defending the values of a free press and pushing back against President Trump's assertion that the media is the "opposition party" and the "enemy of the people."
For journalists and media advocates such as political analyst Otis Sanford, the act of solidarity was a matter of standing up to Trump's Twitter pulpit. He also notes that with the intensification of certain hot-button issues such as white supremacy, the role of the journalist is under scrutiny.
Will howls of "fake news" trickle down to statewide elections in the next few months? Sanford suspects the phrase could have more purchase among Trump-aligned politicians, winning support by positioning the media as a foe of Republican voters.
