Former White House staffers, journalists opine on state of media

A former White House correspondent and two former presidential staffers on opposite sides of the aisle agreed on at least one thing Wednesday morning: There’s reason to be concerned about the current dynamic between the free press and the nation’s chief executive.

About 12 hours after Indiana’s primary election results illustrated the hold that President Donald Trump’s influence has on Indiana GOP voters, the experts were gathered onstage at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site event was titled, “Off the Record: The Press and the Presidency.”

Participating were Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush, Maureen Groppe, a former White House correspondent and current Supreme Court correspondent for USA Today, and Jeff Eller, former deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton.

The trio agreed that there are imperfections in the media’s coverage of policy and politics today, which contributes to a less informed and more politically polarized audience. What they disagreed on is from where that fracture stems.

Fleischer, a frequent media critic, said that journalism has increasingly shown a liberal bias and resonates more with college-educated Democrats than other demographics.

“The majority of Americans say ‘the media does not understand people like me,’” he said. Additionally, he argued the increased need for a subscriber base as advertising becomes less lucrative means that newspapers are forced to appeal to that audience.

“Journalism has let us down,” Fleischer told reporters after the panel. “I think that vicious anti-Trump bias in the media has led to a lot of the strife we’re in today.”

Maureen Groppe, a former White House correspondent and current Supreme Court correspondent for USA Today, was the panel’s sole journalist. Groppe grew up in Rensselaer and got her start covering D.C. as a regional correspondent covering the ways decisions made in Washington impacted Hoosiers and how the Indiana congressional delegation voted.

Now those jobs don’t exist. She said it’s disturbing that local communities don’t have the same watchdogs that they used to for federal lawmakers and the executive branch. She cited recent buyouts at the Associated Press and layoffs at the Washington Post.

Eller noted that some emerging networks have a clear bias, but he believes that perception of bias could be fixed if newspapers and TV stations properly labeled coverage as opinion or analysis when it isn’t straight news.

“MS Now should be labeled ‘advocacy journalism,’” Eller said, “And the same for Fox News.”

Eller said he’s hopeful for the future of journalism, particularly nonprofit newsrooms. He gave a specific shoutout to Indiana examples Mirror Indy and The Indiana Citizen, which he said he reads daily despite living in Texas.

Speakers condemn redistricting scramble

In conversation with reporters after the formal panel, both Eller and Fleischer appeared in agreement that the current rush to redraw congressional districts as both Republicans and Democrats try to win national power needs to end.

In Indiana, votes against redistricting ended the careers of some longtime lawmakers on Tuesday. Trump endorsed seven senators who ran against anti-redistricting incumbents, and at least five were successful. A sixth is likely headed for a recount.

Fleischer compared the redistricting fervor to a sickness. Even in politics, he said, there needs to be fair rules and mutual respect among members of opposite political parties. But he’s concerned the nation is headed to “a world in which Democrats say Republicans should not exist” and vice versa.

“[You] just have to hope that they one day shake it out of their system, and we move on,” he said. “It’s just not healthy for the country if this becomes an every two year ordeal.”

At the same time, he said he’s not opposed to “a tough gerrymander” that happens only once a decade.

On the ousted incumbents, Fleischer, who now lives in central Indiana but is a New York native, said that Indiana did something “remarking and bold,” being only one of two states to turn down redistricting when given the opportunity.

“I think in defeat, there is the solace that you stood on principle,” he said.

Eller described the trend of partisan redistricting out of the 10-year cycle as being a “genie out of a bottle,” that will be difficult to put back in. He called it “counterproductive” for keeping voters engaged and furthering democracy.

Regarding Trump’s deep involvement in the primary election — during which he frequently sent out Truth Social posts calling redistricting opponents and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray “RINOs” which stands for “Republican in name only” — Eller said that every president tracks every election. During his time in the White House, though, it wasn’t something that administrations “did much externally with.”

He said Trump is unique in that way.

“That’s his choice. I’ll leave it to the historians to say if it diminishes the role of the president,” Eller told reporters.