On Friday, Trump announced that he is withdrawing funding from the American public service companies NPR and PBS. A message that should be seen in the light of other cutbacks in the American state apparatus against, among other things, aid, education, and health issues, says Christian Christensen, American professor of journalism at Stockholm University.
Hard to fill the gap
American public service does not have the same status in the USA as SVT in Sweden and BBC has in the UK – except when it comes to news, children's programs, and educational programs, according to Christensen.
The cutbacks will be most noticeable in the poorer states and in rural areas.
It will be hardest to fill the void, while major cities like New York or Los Angeles will more easily be able to finance from private initiatives. It will be a deterioration of the American media landscape, he says.
In the latest measurement of Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index, the USA falls with eleven places compared to the year before.
Trump openly American journalism and shuts out journalists from the corridors of power, which makes it difficult to scrutinize power. Right now, many media companies are very worried and Trump threatens to sue individual journalists, says Christensen.
Questioning trust in society
Attacks on the media are nothing new from Donald Trump's side – but have been going on for a longer time.
He has several times claimed that one cannot trust American journalism. It's about a larger phenomenon, where he questions trust in American social institutions. He undermines a cornerstone of democracy, says Christensen.
During Trump's first 100 days in power, several restrictions on the media have been made – among other things, he has tried to cut funding to Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.
Trump will not be satisfied with today's message, believes Christensen.
The next step can be to threaten to withdraw broadcasting licenses for commercial media. A threat that was discussed already during Trump's previous term of office, says he.
