The Role of Press as Watchdog on Government Corruption

Joel Kaplan, the Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Studies and Professor and Acting Director of Online Master’s in Communications at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, offers thoughts about the role of journalism in unveiling the latest scoop between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“If there had ever been any doubt of the vital role the press plays in our democracy, that was completely dispelled by the series of scoops in the New York Times over the past four days. The role of the press as a watchdog on governmental corruption was never more clear than in the face of relentless attacks about fake news and fake collusion. The Times exploded the year-long denials that no one in the Trump campaign or Trump administration had colluded with Russian officials in an attempt to influence the presidential election,” said Kaplan.

“The Times disclosure of the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian attorney and the subsequent release of the email thread indicates just how vital the media is. According to CNN, even the special counsel investigating Russian collusion was only recently made aware of the meeting and had not seen the emails,” Kaplan said. “The Times’ thorough reporting was so complete that it forced Donald Trump Jr. to release the email to the public in order to get ahead of the story. But the emails themselves were so devastating that the fallout has just begun.”

Professor Kaplan is available to speak to media about this issue. He can be interviewed via email/phone/Skype/LTN studio. Contact Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and public relations at Syracuse University, at 315.443.1897 orejmbuqe@syr.edu, or Wendy Loughlin, director of communications at Newhouse, at 315.443.2785 wsloughl@syr.edu to arrange an interview.