It’s been quite the year for national politics and Lynn Sweet has had a ringside seat for all of it. Sweet is the Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times and has covered national politics since 1994. This is an excerpt of a speech she gave recently atJournalism & Women Symposium’s annual conference in Hot Springs Arkansas. Sweet talks about the challenges facing journalism right now and offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like covering the White House.
“Trump’s relentless attacks to discredit degrade and demonize journalism as Trump appeals to his base have damaged the public’s opinion of our profession. A Morning Consult/Politico pollreleased on October 18 found 46 percent of Americans believe major news organizations fabricate stories on Trump.”
But Sweet says it’s also an important time to be a journalist. "Our challenge is to increase public trust in the media."