Overwhelmed by Trump: The Pitfalls of Journalistic Overreaction
Reader’s Concern:
Dear Le Monde,
For over four decades, we have appreciated the exceptional reporting of your esteemed publication. However, we share the concern raised by Guillaume Erner on France Culture: is the media excessive in its coverage of Donald Trump? As demonstrated in Erner’s podcast on Steve Bannon, Trump’s strategy in "Trump 1" was to overwhelm the media with information, limiting their capacity for journalistic response.
We believe that contemporary journalism falls into this trap all too quickly, as we witnessed in the French media’s treatment of the Front National and RN, which ultimately strengthened those parties. This is particularly troubling given that Trump’s own autocratic tendencies are likely bolstered by the excessive international press coverage.
We urge you to avoid this unproductive overabundance in your coverage. Is it necessary to have so many brief news updates on your website, or even a dedicated "Trump" menu? Your indexing and search engine seem sufficient to fulfill this need. Instead, we encourage more thoroughly researched, in-depth articles that are judiciously timed and measured.
This bombardment of information will only further demoralize your readership, which may in turn affect your own organization. Have these concerns been discussed within your editorial board?
Le Monde’s Response:
Dear Readers,
You raise a valid point regarding the risk of overreacting to Donald Trump’s daily provocations and sensationalized statements, often aimed at saturating the media landscape. We acknowledge this risk and consistently strive to analyze the significance of these statements and provide context through in-depth articles.
During a recent internal editorial meeting, attended via video conference by our correspondents in New York and Washington, we discussed this issue. We concluded that we must continue to fulfill our journalistic obligation to inform and narrate the early months of the "Trump 2" administration with the necessary perspective and critical distance.
Admittedly, we are compelled to publish numerous news articles, analyses, editorials, and opinion pieces dedicated to the announcements, actions, and stances of the American president and his entourage. We believe this is warranted and essential as the world faces an unprecedented situation whose impact on international dynamics – geostrategic, political, and economic – will likely be profound.
We are navigating a historical period, and the role of a media outlet like ours is to chronicle it with the utmost accuracy and comprehensiveness, without succumbing to the manipulations of any particular actor or falling into sensationalism. We owe this to our readers, whose discerning nature demands it.
Thank you for your invaluable feedback. It is through constructive dialogue that we can refine our approach and strive to provide the highest quality journalism.
Sincerely,
Gilles van Kote
Director of Reader Relations
Le Monde
