Regarding President Donald Trump and his aggressive attitude toward the media, there has been a lot of discussion about suppression of the press; this talk came to a head two places last Wednesday, Nov. 7.
While Trump was answering questions in a post-election press conference, CNN reporter Jim Acosta refused to give up the microphone after asking his question, and attempted to argue with Trump. The result was Acosta having his credentials pulled later that night.
Acosta was asked to hand the microphone off to the next reporter for them to ask their question. Instead, he stood there and attempted to argue with the president over a matter of opinion concerning the caravan heading for the border. 
Finally, when the proctor of the press conference, a young female intern, came to grab the microphone, he refused to give the microphone away and attempted to continue his comments toward the president. It was one of the most journalistically unprofessional things I have seen on video.  
There were 35 reporters at the press conference, which lasted an hour and a half, according to Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal. Acosta showed he felt above every other reporter in the room by refusing to yield the mic. A reporter’s job is to report what they observe and see, not to be in the story. 
Acosta attempted to make himself a story, which is completely out of line with journalistic ethics. I covered SEC sports for The Reflector for three years, and if anyone ever attempted something like this in a coach’s press conference, their credentials would be pulled instantly. Asking tough questions is totally acceptable and part of the job, but grandstanding and trying to interject an opinion into the story is not. 
The White House had every right to pull his credentials. I will admit, the way the White House went about it was wrong. Saying he assaulted the proctor or put his hands on her is an exaggeration of him giving her a light touch when she came for the microphone. However, his attitude and the scene he caused at the press conference were enough to warrant his credential getting pulled, especially since this was not the first time this happened.
CNN is not barred from White House’s press conferences, they can send another reporter. They can still say whatever they want on their network with no fear of violent recourse from the White House.
Only Acosta’s hard pass was pulled, which means he now has to apply to every press briefing he wants to attend instead of automatically having access. This is a reporter rightfully losing his pass because of his out-of-line behavior—this is not suppression of the press, like so many want to claim.
Many are casting harsh words for Trump, yet sat by while former President Barack Obama’s administration “posted the worst record in history for fulfilling requests for public records under the Freedom of Information Act,” according to Julie Mason, a veteran White House reporter and guest columnist for Variety.
The scandal was in stark contrast to what happened a few miles away—actual suppression of the press. The domestic terrorist group Antifa, short for Anti-Fascist, (which is ironic since they enjoy employing the tactics of fascist groups like intimidation and violence) chanted violent threats outside of Fox New’s Tucker Carlson’s home on the Wednesday night. 
According to Ashley May of USA Today, the group stood outside Carlson’s house in Washington D.C. and chanted the threat, “Tucker Carlson, we will fight. We know where you sleep at night.”
Carlson’s wife, Susie was the only one home and locked herself in a pantry and called police as the group broke the front door and mentioned using a pipe bomb. The group also posted Carlson’s address on Twitter, along with the addresses of two of his close friends. The tweet has since been deleted. This is what suppression of the press looks like.
What Trump did was completely in line with what he is allowed to do. Acosta deserved his credentials being pulled. Carlson did not deserve having his door broken and threats being chanted. Carlson said he used to never think twice about leaving his four kids home alone, but now has to because people simply dislike his TV show. 
Here is the thing: people see he works for Fox News and assume he is conservative like the rest of the network, but he used to work for CNN and MSNBC. He is about as centrist as it gets. 
Antifa, like they have in the past, used violence and intimidation to suppress any speech not in line with their radicalized political agenda. They showed the country what true suppression of the press looks like: when violence is used as a weapon for what someone puts in their TV show or newspaper, not for a reporter getting too big for his breeches and being punished accordingly.