Journalism needed in Trump era: former Obama staff

Dubai: US President Donald Trump may need to consider different communication strategies, said former White House press secretary Josh Earnest at the Public Diplomacy and Government Communication Forum (PDGCF) in Dubai on Sunday.

Earnest shared his perspectives on how governments can build credibility with journalists in a session focused on how governments can craft key messages.

Earnest served as White House press secretary under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017.

“There is a learning curve for the administration. President Trump is someone who took office vowing to do things differently. As he seeks to build relationships with his counterparts in other countries and win over the support of people who may not have voted for him, he may have to consider different strategies.”

Journalists have more influence on Trump than they perceive, he said.

“There is a perception that President Trump does not like the news media. That is an oversimplification. He certainly has engaged in some high profile disputes with the media, but President Trump likes to see his name in the news. That’s why I encourage journalists to uphold the same kind of standards and to insist on the same kind of accountability they enforced when Obama was in office,” he told the audience.

Speaking further on how governments can build credibility, he said they need to meet people “where they are.” “So much of what we want to communicate is not directly consumed by the people we want to communicate with. Many Americans are not going to get their news by reading news releases from whitehouse.gov. We’ve got to be creative and find other ways to reach people,” Earnest said.