Linda Kramer Jenning is an independent journalist who moved to Bainbridge Island after several decades reporting from Washington, D.C. She taught journalism at Georgetown University and is former Washington editor of Glamour.
The guard is changing at a time of increasing challenges for news organizations including issues of diversity, economic survival and retention of staff, especially of women and people of color. All these struggles come amid the ongoing attacks on media over so-called “fake news” and questions about credibility and trust as audiences splinter and turn to only like-minded social media.
I can say only what this one woman wants: a world where women are honored for more than one month a year; a world where women in every country and of every race and religion enjoy full equality and every door is not only open but has a welcome mat.
At times it looked like almost any other inauguration -- except we saw the first woman, first person of color, sworn in as vice president. And everyone was masked except when singing, taking an oath of office or giving an inaugural address that emphasized "decency and dignity, love and healing."
This anti-media vitriol has been growing for years amid burgeoning mistrust of mainstream media, and not just among extremists. Journalists have become popular targets for extremists from both the left and right, and in politics this blame the media trope has been a favorite of almost all presidents whether Democrat or Republican.