Opinion: Covering Trump 3.0 will mean some changes for journalists

The sparks are flying and fingers pointing between Democratic politicos after Nov. 5’s stunning election results, but under the rubble of this shocking (but not really) result, there is another batch of losers who need more digging out. Call them national, legacy or mainstream – a.k.a. – “THE MEDIA.”
I am certain elite national newsrooms don’t need more critics piling on, especially red-state, small-college professors who did their last reporting a long time ago in a newsroom far, far away. But if some news leaders would just listen to the constructive critics, a little, there might be a small glimmer of insight.
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Let’s start with two platforms-turned-metaphor that may live in infamy past this election: “60 Minutes” and “Joe Rogan.” One is legacy, one “new.” One journalistic, esteemed, and (should be) embarrassed; the other, never of the above.
When “60 Minutes” did what journalists do – edited Vice President Kamala Harris’ soundbites for broadcast, it opened itself up to the widest variety of deserved criticism. Conservatives had their “gotcha.” Days later, former President Donald Trump sat down for a pod-chat with Joe Rogan, and the view counts soared. Whether the 49 million (and counting) viewers watched all three hours is beside the point. Trump was there, unfiltered and largely unquestioned. His fans like it, but it’s not journalism.
My professorial purpose here is to shine light on what indeed journalism is and remind national media folks to get back to those fundamentals.
In a new Trump administration and the nation at large in 2025, here is what I suggest:
Am I Dr. Quixote, tilting at digital windmills? Probably. My own experience as a reporter and teacher has been dedicated to the simplicity of the job when I did it in 1984: Get out there and tell people what is going on and get it right.
Stop trying to change the world, speaking “truth to power,” to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Just get the best available version of the truth you can get – today – and report it as fairly and comprehensively as you can.
Surviving Trump 3.0 will not be easy. Thriving may be out of the question. But we still need journalists on that wall. Rebuild it, one trusted, sourced and attributed brick at a time.
The alternative is more song and dance from Joe and the TikToks and that frontier show is really scary. And the cost is – truth.
Randall E. King, Ph.D., is a professor of communication and associate dean of the School of Communication at North Greenville University. He worked professionally as a journalist several years in South Carolina, including WYFF-TV in Greenville.