The President Versus The Press

I listened to Howard Holzer's book The President Versus the Press: The Endless Battle Between The White House And The Media-From Founding Fathers To Fake News. Much like the title, this book was long and took over 21 hours to listen to the entire thing. The book starts out with George Washington. George was treated unfairly by the press, especially by Benjamin Franklin Bache, Ben Franklin's grandson. Washington decided not to respond to the press. Other presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln did respond to the press in very extreme ways such as throwing publishers in jail without trial and smashing their printing presses. Andrew Jackson rewarded favorable newspapers with government contracts. Kennedy and Franklin Delano Roosevelt charmed the press to keep their secrets. Roosevelt got around the printed press by using radio. Kennedy got around the press by using television. Obama got around the press by using Twitter. The book describes in detail how sixteen of the presidents dealt with the press. Every president felt they were being treated unfairly at times. There is a mistrust between the press and the people in the  White House. Having a free press is essential to our democracy and all presidents understood that at some level. The last chapter of the book was the hardest to listen to because it was about Donald Trump's genius at manipulating the press via Twitter and "alternative facts." Overall I felt the book was educational as far as how each president responded to the press. I wish there was more information about the press and what actually constitutes good journalism.