From the perspective of a journalism student

I’m a journalism student who’s spent the past four years memorizing the AP style guide and learning how to operate a massive film camera. I’ve lain in bed late at night writing and rewriting articles to get a story just right. I’ve worked relentlessly to become a better journalist, and I love the work that I do. But as I’m approaching my graduation, a new president will be taking office, and I wonder: Will I have a future in journalism? 

Since he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized and threatened the press. This month on Fox News, Trump said that he planned to subpoena CBS’s records over their interview on “60 Minutes” with Vice President Kamala Harris because the network edited the interview – a procedure that is ordinary for TV news. Trump also said CBS should be “taken off the air” and threatened to take away CBS’s license, despite the fact that the federal government does not license national networks. 

CBS isn’t the only news organization facing backlash from the former president. Trump has also called for the punishment of ABC News after his singular debate with Harris and for the jailing of journalists who reported on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

Trump’s hatred for journalism – the good and ethical journalism that I’m taught in school – has contributed in creating an unprecedented hatred of the media, with 36% of 597 journalists being threatened or experiencing physical violence, according to a study published this year from the International Women’s Media Foundation. 

On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to the press as “rigged,” “fake news” and “dishonest.” He’s also called the press the “enemy of the people,” according to the report. Anti-press rhetoric is often the precursor of anti-press action. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and pretty much every other dictator you can think of begins their reign by diminishing the media’s and public’s right to criticize a leader. 

Trump’s statements towards the media have led to many journalists feeling worried for their safety, especially when covering Trump rallies and “Stop the Steal” protests, according to the report. The people at those events are also the ones that are armed. 

One journalist who was covering a Trump rally in Michigan during the 2020 primaries reported the crowd spitting on her and other journalists and trying to grab their press badges. They had to be escorted to their cars by event security. 

Further solidifying Trump’s position towards the press, he announced via social media last year that he would bring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under control of the White House. 

“I will bring the independent regulatory agencies such as the FCC and the FTC back under presidential authority as the Constitution demands,” Trump said, though such an effort would assuredly face a legal challenge. “These agencies do not get to become a fourth branch of government issuing rules and edicts all by themselves — and that’s what they’ve been doing.”

The FCC was set up 90 years ago as an independent agency. The organization is led by five commissioners, which are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; the president also appoints a chairman. However, while it is overseen by Congress, the FCC is an independent federal agency responsible for “implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations,” according to the FCC website. By bringing the FCC under executive control, Trump could enforce the revocation of broadcast licenses. 

Since the founding of this country, freedom of the press has been integral to democracy. As George Washington put it over two centuries ago: “The freedom of Speech may be taken away – and, dumb & silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.”

Every week, I sit in my journalism classes thinking about the election and everything that may come after. A second term of Trump could mean an end to the free press. It could mean an end to our constitutional rights, an end to democracy. One thing is for certain: without the press, I won’t have a job. That’s not something I’m ready for.