by Judson Phillips
In the age of Trump, something has become obvious. The news media is the enemy of conservatives. Across Tennessee and the nation, we see the liberal media attack conservatives with the single objective of destroying the conservative.
Why shouldn’t the left wing media attack conservatives? After all, conservatives are the worst in managing media created crises.
Any conservative who is involved in politics is subject to a media witch hunt. Any conservative out there must understand the rules.
Rule 1. They are the enemy. Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit likes to say, “if you just think of them as Democrat activists with a byline, you won’t go wrong.” The quotable Jim Treacher famously said in 2014, “Modern journalism is all about deciding which facts the public shouldn’t know because they might reflect badly on Democrats.” The corollary is modern journalism is all about finding facts or at least allegations that they want to tell the public about because they will reflect badly on conservatives.
Understand, when the media calls, they want to make a conservative look bad.
Rule 2. You have the right to remain silent. The question is, do you have the ability? When the media calls you for a quote or an interview, their intention is not to make you look good or even put your side of the story out there. Your quote or interview will be edited to make you look bad. The liberal side will be given the opportunity to rebut. Talk to friendly media instead.
Rule 3. Don’t be a fool. There is an old saying, a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. The same is true for someone in the middle of a media gotcha storm. Anyone in the middle of that storm needs a crisis manager. If you have the money to afford a professional crisis manager, that is great. If not, use a friend. Find someone with a background in journalism, law or communications and get their help. Let them be your spokesman. No matter how angry you are, let them respond for you.
Rule 4. Damn the facts, full speed ahead. Most conservatives believe in ideas and believe that the best idea will prevail. Liberals do not care about facts. They care about the narrative they want, and they care about winning. Liberal journalists only care about facts to the extent they keep the “journalist” from being sued.
The facts are not important in refuting the left wing journalist media storm. What is important is turning the narrative around.
5. Control the communication. One of the geniuses of Donald Trump is his use of Twitter. He bypasses the media and speaks directly to the American people. Remember, communication is power. Use your social media as a shield and a sword to hit back. Be disciplined.
Always remember, the enemy media, like the Gannett owned Tennessean or the Commercial Appeal are not the friends of conservatives.
They are the enemy and must be treated as such.
