2023 BEA On-Location

The term Lügenpresse, which is German for "lying press," predates the rise of the Nazis but became a common rhetorical tool as an attack on journalists who questioned or criticized the Nazi Party. It made a comeback in the 2010s, seen in anti-immigrant rhetoric in Germany. It then traveled across the Atlantic to American shores to be found in the Trumpist political movement. This, along with Trump's use of the phrase "enemy of the people" to describe journalists, is part of a rising vilification of the news media in American politics and culture. This vilification is not new. It, and its underlying antisemitism, have been part of right-wing politics for decades. This has been true to varying degrees, with it morphing into the more benign accusations of liberal bias. There is also a history of leftist vilification of news as corporate or capitalist propaganda. And, we see a long history of vilification of news that doesn't necessarily fit on one side our contemporary partisan political culture. Thomas Jefferson once said of newspapers, "Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle." This panel is an attempt to start an ongoing conversation at BEA about this vilification, discuss how it should be part of our pedagogy, and what we can and should do to push back and defend journalism from bad faith political attacks while also acknowledging problems with the news and fixing them. The three panelists will begin with short, five-minute remarks on their take on this issue. The floor will then be opened up for a round table discussion inviting all participants to share ideas on the problem of vilification of journalism.
Moderator: Robert Spicer, Millersville University
Panelists: Terry Filipowicz, Pima Community College
Glenda Balas, University of North Texas at Dallas
Robert Spicer, Millersville University