The Commander (and Editor) in Chief

“In the presence of television executives and anchors, Trump whined about everything from NBC News reporter Katy Tur’s coverage of him to a photograph the news network has used that shows him with a double chin. Why didn’t they use ‘nicer’ pictures?” President-elect Trump gathered together a group TV news bigwigs to lecture them on their unfair coverage. (Wait, he won, right?) This is the latest salvo in the battle against the media. And that battle is a really big deal. From The New Yorker: Donald Trump Personally Blasts The Press.

+ As you might imagine, a free press is an issue I’m passionate about. Let me make this crystal clear: When a leader yells at the press, he is yelling at the people. Here are five reasons Trump’s press lecture (and his subsequent Tweets that attacked the NYT, falsely suggested they changed the rules of a meeting, and accused them of being not nice) are something to worry about: We Know Exactly Who Strong Arms the Free Press.

+ Emily Bazelon: “A small group of superrich Americans — the president-elect
among them — has laid the groundwork for an unprecedented legal assault on the media. Can they succeed?” Billionaires vs. the Press in the Era of Trump.

+ Columbia Journalism Review: Covering Trump: An oral history of an unforgettable campaign

+ Ultimately, the meeting with the NYT did happen. And Trump commented on many hot button issues. He said he’d keep an open mind about the Climate Change Accord, and commented on the alt-right conference where some attendees were celebrating with a Hitler-like salute: “I disavow and condemn them.”