Politico

[Commentary] As the 2016 wild presidential campaign progressed, that became my ever-more nagging worry and then our collective nightmare—the fear, clearly realized, that all the flood of news and information we’ve celebrated might somehow be drowning us. So much terrific reporting and writing and digging over the years and … Trump? What happened to consequences? Reporting that matters? Sunlight, they used to tell us, was the best disinfectant for what ails our politics.

But 2016 suggests a different outcome: We’ve achieved a lot more transparency in today’s Washington—without the accountability that was supposed to come with it. And that for my money is by far the most dispiriting thing about this campaign season: not the mind-numbing endless chatter or the embarrassing bottom-feeding coverage or even the stone-throwing barbarians lying in wait to attack any who dare to enter Twitter or Facebook. Facts may be dead, but here’s one I’ll take with me, and it’s a truth as rock-solid as those Facebook feeds are not: elections, in America or elsewhere, still have consequences.

[Susan Glasser is the former editor of Politico.]

Twitter was told it was "bounced" from Dec 14's meeting between tech executives and President-elect Donald Trump in retribution for refusing during the campaign to allow an emoji version of the hashtag #CrookedHillary, apparently. Twitter is one of the few major US tech companies not represented at the Trump Tower meeting attended by, among others, Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and Tesla's Elon Musk — an omission all the more striking because of Trump's heavy dependence on the Twitter platform. "They weren’t invited because they aren’t big enough," a Trump transition official said.

Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus suggested that major changes are coming to the White House press corps. Priebus said "many things have to change" in the White House's relationship and daily traditions with the media, including the daily briefing with the White House Press Secretary and the seating chart. "I think that it’s important that we look at all of those traditions that are great, but quite frankly, as you know, don’t really make news and they're just sort of mundane, boring episodes," Priebus said.

"The point of all of this conversation is that the traditions, while some of them are great, I think it’s time to revisit a lot of these things that have been done in the White House, and I can assure you that change is going to happen, even on things that might seem boring like this topic, but also change as far as how we’re going to approach tax reform, the American worker, how we protect them and business all at the same time why skyrocketing our economy," Priebus said. Priebus said the White House team is currently discussing how to change things up, including where the press sits in the White House briefing room.

On Dec 6, President-elect Donald Trump met with conservative commentator Laura Ingraham at Trump Tower. Ingraham — a talk radio host, Fox News contributor and the founder of conservative lifestyle site Lifezette — is believed to be the leading candidate to be Trump’s press secretary. Trump places a premium on loyalty, and Ingraham has supported the president-elect from the moment that he announced his candidacy a year and a half ago. A long-time supporter of hard-line immigration policies, she was a natural surrogate for the Trump campaign.

If Ingraham would be more interested in policy than previous White House press secretaries, she would also be less interested in the press. She believes that most mainstream news organizations are part of a bipartisan liberal establishment that is institutionally biased against Trump and right-wing populist movements. Throughout the campaign, she relentlessly criticized the “establishment media” and “Republican establishment” for its opposition to Trump.

Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai has spent much of the past three years being the FCC's Commissioner No, but he could soon find himself with a new role at the agency. As the most senior Republican, tradition makes Commissioner Pai the top choice to be acting chairman once the Trump administration gets underway - a position that would put him in charge of getting FCC proposals across the finish line instead of (often harshly) criticizing them. It could also be a test of Pai's word, as he has repeatedly demanded more bipartisanship at the agency and called for the text of proposals to be released before they get voted on -- two issues he would have control over as the agency's top dog.

House Commerce Committee Chairman-to-be Greg Walden (R-OR) is losing his longtime chief of staff. Brian MacDonald, Walden's top aide for the last 18 years, announced that he's set to start a new chapter and relinquish his role by the end of December 2016. MacDonald was a key architect of Walden's bid for the Commerce Committee gavel. "He is one of the hardest-working, most professional, and loyal chiefs on the Hill," Chairman Walden said. MacDonald's goodbye announcement said that Lorissa Bounds will be his replacement in Walden's personal office. No word yet on his next steps.

Liberal media-watchdog organization Media Matters is naming a new president and taking its coverage in a new direction, with less emphasis on cable news and more focus on fake news and other "bad actors." Angelo Carusone, currently the organization's executive vice president, will take over as president. The group, known for taking on what they argue is misinformation in conservative media, particularly on Fox News, will enter a “new era,” focusing on the likes of Breitbart, the “alt-right”, conspiracy theories and fake news.

"There was a period of time which we were, rightfully so, described as the ‘Fox antagonist's,” said Carusone, who also acted as Deputy CEO of the Democratic National Convention. “Now, our mission is to be principally focused on the value of journalism.” Carusone, who in the past has led efforts against the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, said Fox is no longer the “gate keeper” it used to be. "It used to be simple, Fox News was the gate keeper… but now there are so many potential bad actors,” Carusone said. "Now there are places like Facebook who aren’t bad actors but can be enablers of misinformation.”

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who counts CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. and TBS among the media companies in his portfolio, says that President-Elect Donald Trump’s campaign promises to redefine the First Amendment and “open up the libel laws” are not likely to happen when he takes office.

“No, I don’t think that’s a serious thing. We should all worry if anybody was going to change the First Amendment,” Bewkes said. “Remember, the Democratic party had a campaign plan to change the First Amendment, but they were doing it in the guise of campaign finance reform,” Bewkes added. “That would worry me more, because the press tends to miss that, because they tend to lean that way, therefore they supported what they were doing, and I think though they viewed it charitably as something cleaning up money in politics. I think the threat to the First Amendment came more from the Democratic side.”

There has never been a president like Donald Trump before, and the usual press reflexes won’t produce copy that allows readers to see through his lies and deceptions. The Trump challenge demands that the house of journalism gives itself a makeover. Here’s how:
1. Curb Your Twitter Enthusiasm
2. Starve the Troll
3. Don’t Fact-Check Everything He Says (Starve the Troll, Part II)
4. Crack the Code Behind His Psyops
5. Report Aggressively, But Not Necessarily From the White House
6. Stop Blaming Yourself for Trump

If you thought House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) would drop his push for Federal Communications Commission process reforms once the GOP was in control at the agency, think again. Chairman Walden, who’s seeking the full House Commerce gavel in 2017, has been a big proponent of legislation to modernize FCC procedures. He helped steward bipartisan legislation that would’ve required the agency to study the idea of releasing texts of commission proposals before they are voted on. “My argument has been, I don’t care who’s heading up the commission, there's a flawed public policy process there,” said Chairman Walden. “So I hope with a new President and a new FCC, we can find common ground on process reform, because I think we can build out a much better FCC going forward that will serve the public interest better for the constituencies engaged.”