The Trump administration’s hostility toward journalism has made its way to the Rio Grande Valley after several journalists, including one from The Rider, were escorted off a Republican rally in Harlingen. As student journalists, the treatment faced is ridiculous.
A member of The Rider was assigned to cover the rally featuring JD Vance and Eric Flores Wednesday as a general admission guest after not accessing the media link to request credentials in advance.
Once at the Harlingen Convention Center, The Rider journalist declared herself as a member of the press and was told she could not cover the event but was welcomed to sit in as an audience member under the condition she not bring in equipment, take notes or conduct interviews. She was told doing so would result in being removed.
While waiting to go in, event staff told her she could not attend the event because she had already presented herself as press. She was then asked to leave the premises and escorted off the property.
When a member of the media is not allowed to attend a political event, even as a general audience member, the question “What are they scared of?” arises.
As journalists, we are taught to stand our ground and report the truth. As of late, however, Trump’s America has made truth a sacrilegious subject.
The president of the United States has publicly shown his strong dislike for all sorts of media whose reporting does not favor him, calling them “fake news.”
He goes on to belittle many journalists who ask tough questions, diminishing their professional work down to calling them names, including calling female reporters “piggies.”
All of this has a ripple effect that has made its way down to us.
Our main priority is to get both sides of the picture showcased. Giving both parties coverage allows for an unbiased standpoint.
The Rider’s goal was to cover a Democratic event, James Talarico’s rally at the university, and a Republican event on the same day.
However, when we cannot cover a Republican event or even take notes, it gives us and the people a sense of uncertainty about where the nation is headed. To suppress the First Amendment is bizarre on its own.
One might argue there is no need to cover these events as a student-led newspaper, but our work matters just as much as any other local or national media outlet.
As the student voice of UTRGV, we cover political events to inform the student body, as well as the community, in hopes of enabling them to make informed choices about who they deem is best to represent them.
Protecting the First Amendment has become the main objective for many outlets across the nation. It is our job to report injustices as we see them, whether it is at a local rally or a banning at The White House.
After all, as Anne Hathaway said in “The Devil Wears Prada 2”: journalism still fucking matters.
