WE ARE ALL THE MEDIA NOW - Which Will Prevail: Trumpism or a Free Press (Part 3)
If You Truly Care: Here's What YOU Can Do as a Citizen Journalist in the 2024 Election to Thwart Trump’s Hidden Ongoing Coup and Plans to Implement Project 2025
Any of us as a serious writer or creator of any kind can be an active “citizen journalist" and help confront the menace of the Trump network's “ongoing coup” - which has ominously and almost imperceptibly moved to the state and local levels in what will be an attempt to jam up the electoral process and make certification from the states impossible: and which if successful would mean that the 2024 presidential election would be decided not by we voters, but rather by a handful of politicians (keep reading for the details).
You can help prevent this by amplifying the power of your vote with the power of your voice.
If it sounds unrealistic that an individual freelance or citizen journalist could have much impact on this election, consider this approach in conjunction with projects like MoveOn.org has had to get voters to “bring two other persons” to the poles with them on Election Day. Even if you don't have access to the halls of power, you do indeed have the power as a writer or podcaster or video creator to have as much and even far more effect than MoveOn has asked of the average citizen. If you influence just a few persons to vote from your platform, you will have equalled what the MoveOn project asks of you. And you can multiply that by whatever reach your platform has: several people, dozens ... perhaps hundreds or thousands? Your efforts could be vital in a close district that may be decided by a handful of voters, and thus even to the outcome of the entire presidential election.
If you have wanted to get involved in a political campaign in some way but have hesitated to fully commit to volunteering because you thought it would be too structured or too much work, this approach might be ideal for you. You will have complete control over your time and how much you want to contribute to the effort. And you can do something significant:
AS A CITIZEN JOURNALIST YOU CAN COUNTER TRUMPISM BY HELPING TO FILL THE VOID CREATED BY BOTH THE COLLAPSE OF LOCAL JOURNALISM OVER THE LAST QUARTER CENTURY AND THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA'S FAILURE TO ASK AND/OR TO GET ANSWERS TO THE MOST VITAL ISSUES OF THE 2024 ELECTION
To show what can be done, I am going to recount how the Charlotttesville Observer handled a situation in 1992 when it asked its readers to provide feedback for a “citizen agenda” regarding what they wanted candidates to talk about in that year’s election.
During the primaries The Observer submitted written questions to the candidates about the topics its readers indicated they were interested in.
Terry Sanford (then the incumbent senator from North Carolina) told Observer editor Richard Oppel that he did not plan to answer questions about the environment (which was high on the readers’ agenda) “until the general election” (most likely in an attempt to present himself one way in the primaries, and another way in the general election).
After some back and forth regarding the matter, Oppel finally threatened to leave blank spaces or to print “would not respond” under the questions Sanford did not answer.
Senator Sanford shortly afterwards provided responses to the full list of questions, including those about the environment.
EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN SPOTLIGHT WHEN THE QUESTIONS ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED FORTHRIGHTLY
As I said in Part One of this series:
Serious journalists have both the opportunity and responsibility to unapologetically ask the right QUESTIONS. And beyond that, they have an equal responsibility to ensure that those questions are answered FORTHRIGHTLY - or to very clearly and forcefully point out when they are not.
YOU as a citizen journalist (a writer or creator of any kind who posts SERIOUSLY on social media) have the ability to do something similar to what Richard Oppel did: you can create the mechanisms from which to spotlight when mainstream media fails to forcefully point out that a candidate is not genuinely and unambiguously answering questions (especially when they are "pretending" to answer them with nonsensical responses) – specifically in this election when such a failure amounts to an attack on the very democratic process itself.
Freelance and local journalists who might have professional contacts and an established platform from which to amplify their messages can be especially effective in implementing this method.
One way this can be done is by simply taking an interview or video clip from a larger publication and focusing on where a candidate has been evasive regarding issues of paramount importance - such as refusing to commit to accepting the results of an election. You can alert your audience to reject that candidate, and if you have a reach of any sort you might change some votes by providing your following with information it would otherwise not be aware of.
This strategy involves more than just reposting random articles or commenting on everything that comes your way. It must be precisely focused on countering the "ongoing coup" as and where it unfolds, because if we fail in that there is no issue you care about which won't be made worse by Donald Trump's re-election and the implementation of Project 2025: whether it be climate change, reproductive rights, the composition of the Supreme Court or just about anyhing you can name.
It will be explained here and in future posts exactly HOW and WHERE to focus your efforts so that they will have an actual impact verus merely being misdirected wasted energy.
It may work to connect one other issue to the main priority of stopping Trump’s re-election and/or coup - reproductive rights obviously comes to mind, and women have been very effectively doing this around the theme of "freedom." But don't let your scope get so broad that it takes the focus of your audience off of your main objective: countering Trumpist authoritarianism.
Reposts and comments are useful, but they are not active citizen journalism if they merely randomly regurgitate what others have said without regard for the quality of the work, and without also being laser-focused on the preeminent issue of this election in a way that draws your audience into also being laser-focused on it.
In the example above, Richard Oppel didn’t allow himself to be diverted from the main undertaking of getting Terry Sanford to answer questions about the environment. Oppel could have simply printed Sanford’s other answers without any blank spaces, but this would not have elicited the information voters wanted and NEEDED to have. Instead, Oppel threatened to hilight Sanford’s potential lack of response itself.
Your approach must be similar to Oppel’s, and also precisely focused. You will also need to frame what you highlight in the CONTEXT of countering Trumpist authoritarianism.
And your methodology must be as serious the threat it is confronting.
Again, quoting from Part 1 of this series:
There must be an elevation of what subject matter serious journalists cover and emphasize, as well as how this is put into a proper context; a concurrent elevation of the solemnity, tone, honesty and genuine objectivity with which this is done; and a stronger emphasis on how what is reported is followed up upon.
How “what is reported is followed up upon” is actually what you will be doing: you will be hilighting when the mainstream media fails to clarify that a candidate has avoided answering or has answered a question in a way that is a threat to the democratic process.
You will need to abide by most of the standards that professional journalism aspires to - and only deviate from them when it's vitally necessary (in the way described in Part One). An issue of this magnitude must be addressed with the objectivity and solemnity it requires. Name calling, insults and biased presentations will lose the attention and thus the votes of the very portion of the independent, open-minded part of the public you are trying to and must reach in order to defeat the anti-democratic apparatus that wants to implement Project 2025.
Here Is the Most Immediate Danger to Make the Spotlight Glare On Right Now - What Will We Do if People Like These Take Power?
The now well known mantra of "I'll accept the results of the election if it's free and fair" has been done in accompaniment with something which has only recently began to come to public awareness: there has been a suspicious installation of election officials at the county level by the Trump network which could jam up the electoral process and make it impossible for a state to certify its election results. This is almost certainly leading to an attempt to overturn the results of the 2024 election (not just the popular vote, but the electoral one).
And this is just one shot of a larger salvo by the Trumpist network to discredit the electoral process in any way it can so that the selection of the next American president is taken out of the hands of voters and put in those of politicians in state legislatures; and ultimately under the authority of politicians and courts from a multitude of branches of government on the federal, state and local levels in what would become a nightmare of constitutional entanglements.
See the videos below to learn more about this. The first Rachel Maddow clip is especially chilling and gives a fuller picture of what is happening – the second video explains more about how attempts to prevent certification of the election would work at the county and state levels. The potential problem is even more nightmarish than what Maddow presents. Some of the ways this could unfold – and more importantly, how it can be prevented – are explained and will be further developed in Safeguard.
Click Here to Watch the Video Below
Click Here to Watch the Video Above
Click here to watch the video above regarding how the attempt to prevent certification of the election would work on the county and state levels.
If you didn't watch the Rachel Maddow video above, please go back and do so to understand what's actually happening.
This struggle isn’t just about who will win or lose an election – it’s about who will win or lose the fight for the democratic process itself.
As a writer, podcaster or video creator with any kind of public voice on any platform who is able to exercise disciplined editorial judgement on even a semi-professional level, you have the opportunity and the power to make a difference.
The 2024 election will be fought BEFORE and AFTER November 5. Other challenges will arise both prior and subsequent to Election Day, and we must anticipate and find solutions for the constitutional entanglements that will most likely face us as the votes are cast, counted and certified. We do not have the luxury of sleepwalking up to that time and assuming that merely casting a vote will make our democratic and constitutional systems operate on autopilot without guidance from its citizens. And we will not be able to rest assured that we have succeeded until after Inauguration Day.
Coming Next in This Series
You can get involved in this project in any way that you want to, and at whatever level of effort you choose.
You can begin by reposting this article right now on your social media sites to get others involved (and then either work independently or network with them).
If you don't have a blog or a social media platform, create one - if only for your inner circle of friends - and repost relevant articles with your SERIOUS commentary on them.
Whatever you do, start now.
The next post from this series will explain HOW you can make your efforts more efficient and concentrate them WHERE they will have the most impact and explain how you can network with other citizen journalists on the local level to amplify the power of what you do.
Read Part 1 of "Which Will Prevail: Trumpism or a Free Press?" now to understand the principles that professional journalists should follow in covering the 2024 election (and apply them yourself even if most of the mainstream media doesn't). Read Part 2 to see what kinds of questions Donald Trump and his spokespersons should be asked – so that you can point out when such questions are not asked or are evaded.
More will be presented in upcoming articles in this series about other ways the Trumpist threat might arise in the 2024 election and how to counter them as an active citizen journalist. All previous and future articles from this series will be hosted on Safeguard, a free Substack online project where ideas will be presented regarding how you can be most effectively involved.
Thanks for reading “Which Wll Prevail: Trumpism or a Free Press?”
Subscribe to Safeguard to be notified of subsequent installments of this series in which in will be explained HOW journalists can most effectively apply the ideas in this article, as well as further ideas regarding how to counter Trumpist authoritarianism politically, legislatively and in the electoral arena.
Please share both this article and Safeguard freely by reposting them on your social media sites and forwarding them to others in order to advance the cause of protecting our constitutional democracy.
Thanks for the link---excellent. I try not to echo all the same old stuff, but write about things not usually covered. Mostly on the environment, but a bit on the election too. Next week I'll post "Understanding MAGA" written in response to friends who say they just can't understand it. You can understand without agreeing and without vilifying. That's what my piece will do. Hope to see you there!
This is excellent. Thanks for writing it.