Behind the Gates: Morning Joe’s Visit to Mar-a-Lago and the Threat to Journalism
Last week, the co-hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, quietly visited Mar-a-Lago for a fence-mending meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. Known for his combative stance toward the press, Trump has often targeted the hosts, spreading falsehoods about them and hinting at retribution for their critical coverage.
The visit underscored the growing anxieties within the media industry, as journalists grapple with unprecedented levels of hostility from political figures.
Scarborough and Brzezinski reportedly sought the meeting out of concern for potential governmental and legal harassment under the incoming administration. Their decision reflects a broader dilemma faced by journalists worldwide: how to navigate a climate where attacks on the media are not just rhetorical but carry the weight of potential policy actions.
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Press Freedom in Peril
The timing of the Mar-a-Lago meeting coincided with the 69th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism in Sydney, where MEAA Media Federal President Karen Percy delivered a powerful address on the urgency of defending journalism’s role as a watchdog. Percy’s speech, delivered against the backdrop of global challenges to press freedom, sounded an alarm for the profession.
“Recent events in the US should be sounding alarm bells in our industry,” Percy warned. “The threats against journalists by the President-elect and the way he and his supporters are talking about punishing news organizations is alarming, to say the least.”
Her remarks highlighted the inherent danger in dismissing these threats as mere bluster. “We can’t accept claims that these are ‘only jokes,’ and we cannot assume we are safe from such political extremism here,” she said. Percy stressed the need for vigilance, calling on journalists to push back against attempts to delegitimize the profession and undermine its critical role in holding power to account.
Internal and External Challenges
Percy’s speech also turned the lens inward, addressing systemic issues within media organizations that erode public trust. She cited widespread problems of racism, sexism, and toxic workplace cultures as significant barriers to ethical, impactful journalism.
“A series of reviews and reports in Australia this year have shown racism, sexism, and other discriminatory practices are rife in our major news organizations,” Percy stated.
“Toxic newsrooms, misogynistic behavior, belittling of the perspectives of diverse staff, and underpaid insecure work hardly make ideal environments for excellence in journalism.”
She celebrated the release of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher whose years-long legal battle exposed the fragility of media freedom worldwide. “The saga against the WikiLeaks publisher has exposed the true dangers to media freedom, particularly after the US refused to drop espionage charges against him,” she said.
Despite these challenges, Percy maintained that the solution lies in strengthening journalism’s foundational principles. “Ethical, public interest journalism is severely compromised without safe and secure workplaces,” she emphasized. The MEAA’s Journalist Code of Ethics, which turned 80 this year, remains a vital guide for fairness, honesty, and independence in reporting.
The Fight Ahead
The Scarborough-Brzezinski visit to Mar-a-Lago exemplifies the defensive posture many journalists feel forced into under increasingly hostile political climates. Percy’s speech underscored that retreat is not the answer. Instead, she called on journalists to resist external pressures while confronting the internal flaws that undermine their credibility.
“Now is not the time for the pre-emptive buckle,” Percy declared. “Now is the time to stand together, to hold our nerve, to push back on the inevitable attacks on the news media, to actually hold the powerful to account. To fight for the public’s right to know.”
As journalists navigate these turbulent times, the stakes could not be higher. Scarborough and Brzezinski’s decision to engage directly with Trump reflects the tangible risks journalists face, even in democracies with established traditions of press freedom.
Percy’s words offer a rallying cry for the profession to defend its role as the public’s watchdog—an uncomfortable, difficult, but necessary fight for the integrity of journalism and the right to truth.
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