First and foremost, may Glenn Greenwald and his family be safe. Obviously, the charges are, to coin a phrase, trumped up by Bolsonaro’s Brazilian Reich, designed to punish and silence an effective gadfly.
The Times does a pretty good job defending Greenwald. But this brief passage jumped out:
When Mr. Bolsonaro was elected president in 2018, Reporters Without Borders called him “a serious threat to press freedom and democracy in Brazil.”
President Trump may not have made a dent in press freedoms in the United States — its traditions and institutions are too strong for that…
Wow. They really don’t get it.
The elimination of White House Press Conferences. Trump’s manipulation of the simplistic “objectivity” standards of modern journalism to require coverage of his lies as if they were merely another point of view. The revoking of press passes for critical reporters. The flooding of social media with disinformation and lies. The verbal and physical threats against critics. And so on, and so on, and so on…
No. Journalism is in a very precarious position. Let’s see what happens to American press freedoms if a tv station gets their hands on a complete Trump tax return. Or if indisputable documentary evidence gets leaked that some of Trump’s personal behavior goes further than “merely” cheating on his wife or snickering with child molesters at a party. Or if Trump’s poll numbers go south this summer. Or if there is a truly serious extended international crisis caused by his gross incompetence.
Wow. The Times really doesn’t get it.