Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

While walking about the house preparing for a day of work, a banner came across CNN saying that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine were about to give a press conference with an update on the situation in Iran.

It seemed important so I sat down to watch.

The two men finally came to the podiums to start their remarks. Hegseth spoke first and began by congratulating President Trump on securing a deal at the recent NATO summit with members agreeing to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP.

He then used that as an opportunity to begin berating the members of the media in the room about how there were no stories written about the outcome referring to “Fake News” CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and other outlets.

Just as a test of that assertion, I pulled my phone out and searched “Trump NATO” to see what results would come up. At the top of the Google page were a story each from CNN and The New Yok Times reporting the very news that Hegseth said they didn’t.

He also used the press conference to admonish media outlets for using phrases like “severely damaged” to refer to the results of the U.S.’s air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites instead of the phrase “completely obliterated” that the President prefers and reported.

I can’t speak to the intentions of any other journalists or news outlets, but most of the coverage that I saw was more or less erring on the side of caution due to conflicting reports than trying to downplay the President’s successes.

With an ongoing story, you can only report what you have at the time.

It was rather interesting to hear Secretary Hegseth reprimanding the alleged biases of the media when he himself worked as a pundit on Fox News before getting placed in a position of power.

He was all for saying whatever about whomever, but now that he’s on the other side of things, it’s not okay.

There’s been a stink attached to the members of the media for a decade or so. While I have my problems with the big national outlets like CNN or MSNBC or Fox News, there’s a large part of me that questions whether that stink comes from the actions of the media or a perception that’s been created.

Since he first decided to run back in 2015, President Trump has thrown accusations of bias and spinning or making up stories to make him look bad. He’s convinced his base that anything negative they hear about him is made up and that the media is out to get him.

You see reporters being told that their questions are stupid and openly mocked by members of his administration constantly.

It’s a strategy that seems to have worked. There are people who believe absolutely everything he says despite any reports to the contrary. Experts who have spent their lives studying a particular topic are told they are wrong because the President sees things differently.

My biggest concern with that strategy is that when you plant seeds of doubt, we all end up in the weeds.

Journalists should be held accountable when they get things wrong just as anybody in any job should, even those in public office.

But there’s a difference in false reporting and a story you just don’t like because it makes you look bad. My advice to anyone who doesn’t like being in the news is don’t do things to get yourself put in the news.

I won’t be so naïve as to say that every journalist is worthy of respect. There are undoubtedly those that editorialize in unnecessary ways or twist a story to fit a narrative. Every industry has its bad actors, but the Founding Fathers included freedom of the press in the First Amendment for a reason.

Elected officials should have their feet held to the fire on every level, and I don’t think any of us want to live in a country where you only hear good things about the government and the president dictates the stories that get reported.

That type of authoritarianism is the antithesis of what the United States stands for.

Graduating with a degree in Journalism was one of the proudest days of my life, and I’m just as proud, if not prouder, to be a working journalist today.

During my time at MTSU, I don’t remember them offering any classes called Bias 101 or The Fundamentals of Sensationalizing.

Instead, I got to learn how to gather information and put it out for the public to read in a manner that was truthful from instructors I respect immensely, like Leon Alligood, Whitney Matheson and Val Hoeppner to name a few.

Good journalism is a necessity in a free world, and while their may be those who use the title of “journalist” for personal gain and exposure, the institution itself should be respected and held to the highest esteem.

At the very least, journalists should be able to do their job without being berated, or at times worse, due to a misconception manufactured by a president and his cabinet that seem to be unable and unwilling to handle tough questions.