January 2017

Reaction began pouring in after the Federal Communications Commission's incentive auction met its two benchmarks Jan 18, meaning it will close after bidding dries up in stage four. Former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, under whose watch the spectrum auction was drawn up, agreed with current Chairman Tom Wheeler that the auction had been a success, and despite some naysaying at the outset.

"Today it's clear the auction will be a success," he said. "Of course when we originally proposed the idea many said it was crazy and would never happen. The auction will recover an unprecedented amount of spectrum for the mobile ecosystem, both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, and it gave broadcasters an opportunity for a market-based monetization that wouldn't have otherwise been available. It's the first wireless auction of its kind in the world, and important that it happened in the United States. The challenge now for the FCC and new administration is how to keep pushing the envelope on spectrum policy and ensure the US maintains its global leadership."

Mikey Dickerson, the first administrator for the US Digital Service, will leave his post Jan 20, along with a slew of other political appointees as President-elect Trump is inaugurated. The leadership for USDS—President Barack Obama’s original tech team, with its 200 recruits—will now fall to director of engineering, Matt Cutts, who will step up to acting administrator on Inauguration Day.

Cutts broke the news on his blog Jan 18, and also elaborated on his decision to resign from Google—his last day at the tech giant was Dec 31—and instead take the reins at USDS. The impact of public service, Cutts said, tops a fatter paycheck in Silicon Valley. “The work that USDS does is critical to the American people, and I’m honored to continue that tradition,” he wrote. “Working for the government doesn’t pay as well as a big company in Silicon Valley. We don’t get any free lunches. Many days are incredibly frustrating. All I can tell you is that the work is deeply important and inspiring, and you have a chance to work on things that genuinely make people's lives better. A friend who started working in this space several years ago told me, ‘these last five years have been the hardest and worst and best and most rewarding I think I will ever have.’”

Whereas all modern presidents have spun information—even lied—the reality TV star President-elect Donald Trump actively obstructs a fact-based public debate like no other before him. Whereas all have attempted to take their messages directly to supporters, Trump has a unique gift for using tools that do so almost instantaneously. Whereas all have sought to limit press access to suit their political ends, Trump’s relationship with the truth has called the very value of access into question. And whereas all have railed against the press in the face of negative coverage, Trump has portrayed the media as a political foil he’s actively trying to defeat.

In the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Columbia Journalism Review spoke with political journalists who will cover the incoming administration and reporters and historians who’ve chronicled its predecessors. They collectively painted a foreboding picture of journalism in the Trump era, even if some claimed to hold out hope that journalists will weather the coming storm.