Journalism has been my life. For almost 30 years, I worked as a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Later, I taught the art and craft of journalism as a professor and dean of the College of Media at the University of Illinois.
I share those bona fides so you understand that I have both a professional and theoretical understanding of journalism and how it should be practiced.
Now, to the point.
Recently, I received a letter from the Society of Professional Journalists—an organization I have been a member of for over 50 years—requesting support for the society. I already support the SPJ with my annual membership dues, but this letter was asking for additional help.
My first inclination was to write a check. However, after reading the letter, it occurred to me that the SPJ is not fulfilling its role as an effective overseer of my former profession.
If it were, it would have noted that studies by various media organizations have repeatedly found that coverage of President Trump during the first ten months of his second term has been overwhelmingly negative—92.2% negative versus 7.8% positive. Newspaper coverage is no better, judging from the newspapers I read every day.
Something like this should set off alarm bells at the SPJ. Instead, all we get are crickets. I bet not even the worst murdering despots and tyrants of the past one hundred years—Hitler, Stalin, or Mao—received that kind of negative coverage from the American media.
Yet here we are in 2025, and an American president elected by 80 million Americans is being covered with a media loathing usually reserved for the worst despots in history.
Okay. I get it. As Americans, we have the right to dislike our president. We can disagree with him, criticize him, or oppose him. But when the coverage of him by our news media is 92 percent negative, that seems just a bit over the top.
How is that journalism? Answer: It isn’t journalism. It’s distortion and deception. And it is doing a grave disservice to the American public.
Perhaps that’s why the public’s trust in America’s news media has plummeted to the lowest point on record. Only 29 percent of the American public trusts our news media to report honestly and without bias.
Compare that to the early 1970s, when I began my career at the Chicago Tribune. Back then, 72 percent of Americans trusted our news media to report with fairness and balance.
Yet, here we have the Society of Professional Journalists blithely telling us that America’s journalists are reporting the news scrupulously, objectively, and independently. At the same time, insists the SPJ, they are constantly under threat and attack.
I’m sorry. I’m not buying it.
During my career, I covered riots, political uprisings, revolutions, massacres, and wars. Did I feel “threatened?” You bet. But that was part of the job.
While working in nations ruled by dictators, I have witnessed journalists being jailed, and I have listened to their stories of torture and death. I, myself, was threatened and detained, and on a couple of occasions, was even expelled.
Did I feel intimidated and unprotected? Sure. But that was part of the job.
Do I think journalists working in the United States are facing intimidation, threats, torture, and death from the Trump administration?
No, I don’t.
Does the Trump administration admonish some reporters for what it sees as biased coverage and “fake news?” Sure, it does. And with good reason, given the Gallup poll I just referenced.
Has the administration restricted some reporters from accessing the Oval Office during Trump’s occasional impromptu briefings? You bet. Unlike the Press Briefing Room in the West Wing, access to the Oval Office is by invitation only.
Do police and federal agents sometimes inconvenience reporters, impede them, maybe even push them around? Probably, on occasion, that happens. However, experienced reporters understand that such incidents come with the territory and are seldom, if ever, life-threatening. Accomplished reporters—be they male or female—are not wimps. They must possess toughness of mind. And it doesn’t hurt if they are sturdy and resilient in body, too.
But that is not the point of this post today.
I want to share a note I received from the executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, along with my response to her.
Most critically, however, after her note and my rejoinder, I have reprinted a column entitled: “The 4th Estate Again Shows Why It’s Beneath Contempt.”
That column was written for the American Free News Network by Mike Thiac, a retired Army intelligence officer and former police patrol sergeant. A more complete bio follows Mr. Thiac’s column. I urge you to read it.
Mr. Thiac has done a splendid job of dissecting a deceitful New York Times story paragraph by paragraph, thereby revealing why the title of his column is not only appropriate, but also demonstrative of the dishonest and untrustworthy journalism being inflicted on America today.
I know this is a lot to take in, but a trustworthy and responsible news media is critical to our republic’s success and survival, not to mention, indispensable and vital to our democratic form of government.
Without an informed citizenry that has access to accurate and truthful news and information, we are as doomed to failure as all communist, fascist, and totalitarian states have been.
Sadly, our news media today seem to have lost sight of that fact.
Here is that note from the Society of Professional Journalists. Please read on:
TRUTH IS UNDER PRESSURE—HELP PROTECT IT TODAY
The need to support journalists and the organizations that protect them has never been greater.
Every day, reporters face censorship, intimidation, shrinking newsroom budgets, and attacks on their credibility. Yet through it all, they continue to shine a light on the truth, keeping our communities informed and our democracy strong.
That’s why your support for the Society of Professional Journalists and the SPJ Foundation matters so deeply this year-end. Together, we champion press freedom, uphold ethical standards, and strengthen journalism at every level from student programs and local chapters to national advocacy and legal defense.
Your gift makes a direct impact. It fuels support and advocacy for journalists under threat, provides resources and training to help reporters work safely and ethically, sustains investigative and local journalism, and supports education that inspires the next generation of truth-tellers.
As we look ahead to 2026, SPJ and the SPJ Foundation are preparing to do even more to deepen our work locally and regionally to ensure journalists in every community have the tools, protection, and support they need to serve the public. Your generosity today helps make that growth possible.
When you give, you’re not just supporting SPJ, you’re standing with every journalist fighting for the truth.
Warm regards,
Caroline Hendrie
Executive Director
Society of Professional Journalists and
Society of Professional Journalists Foundation
MY RESPONSE:
Dear Ms. Hendrie,
You say, “Truth is under pressure today.” Sadly, truth has become a quaint notion, a distant memory, in most of the legacy media today. I spent almost 30 years as a reporter, foreign correspondent, and editor, and I have never seen a more dishonest and irresponsible news media. Is it any wonder that trust in the media, which, according to Gallup, stood at 72 percent when I joined the Chicago Tribune in the 1970s, has now plummeted to only 29 percent?
I have been a member of SPJ since I was the student editor of the University Daily Kansan at the University of Kansas. SPJ needs to stop congratulating itself for fostering the kind of deceitful journalism practiced today and hold reporters, editors, and producers accountable for their betrayal of the public. Rectitude must begin with the organizations that should be honestly scrutinizing our media. Regrettably, the SPJ is failing in that mission.
Regards,
Ron Yates,
Professor Emeritus of Journalism
University of Illinois
MIKE THIAC’S AFNN COLUMN:
THE 4TH ESTATE AGAIN SHOWS WHY IT’S BENEATH CONTEMPT
The NY Times demonstrates a classic example of propaganda in its “news” section
November 11, 2025
by Mike Thiac
I despise journalists for the most part. The false narrative they present of being “objective” and “unbiased” is laughable on its face. Additionally, there is the arrogant presumption that only they can determine what news is fit for public discussion and that they must frame the terms. Plus, they are ignorant of basic facts, which brings us to this article.
Reading this “news,” you swear Immigration Agents are not law enforcement officers. And the officers have no business other than checking immigration status.
I’m a patrol cop, and suppose I pull you over for an expired registration, only to find you really did renew it last night. Fine, you don’t get a ticket for that. But when I run your license, I see an open warrant for narcotics. I can’t let you go. You are a wanted criminal.
Apparently not in the way of “thinking” for these two ladies. Take a look at this NYT story:
Immigration Agents Arrest Man in L.A. Raid and Drive Off With His Toddler
By Jill Cowan and Mimi Dwyer
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents descended on a Home Depot parking lot in Los Angeles this week and detained a Latino man. They secured his hands behind his back, and the man, later identified as Dennis Quiñonez, leaned against his Chevy hatchback.
“Immigrant rights activists stood nearby, taking video and shouting at the agents, who were masked and heavily armed…”
Ladies, may I enlighten you on law enforcement procedure? If you detain someone, you are authorized to secure their hands for the safety of the officer. It’s hands that can harm someone, directly or with a weapon.
As for the agents being “masked and heavily armed,” yes, they mask themselves to prevent doxing. Additionally, law enforcement agents (LEOs) are typically armed. Plus, will you please define “heavily” armed? Am I heavily armed by having a pocketknife as well as my pistol? Inquiring minds want to know.
“Mr. Quiñonez was taken away to another vehicle. An armed agent slid into the driver’s seat of his Chevy.
“There’s a baby in the back!” an onlooker shouted. Minutes later, someone cried out, “They’re about to drive!
“Another agent, wearing body armor and carrying a rifle, got into the passenger seat.”
Ladies, LEOs are armed with rare exceptions (e.g., working inside a jail). All agencies now require body armor. So, what is the issue with a federal cop being armed and wearing body armor? Where is the “news” in that? Why do I know you’re trying to make federal agents look like Imperial Stormtroopers?
“Mr. Quiñonez’s daughter — who relatives said later is a few months shy of her second birthday — looked on, wide-eyed from her car seat. Then the driver reversed the car and drove away.”
No kidding, ladies, welcome to reality. We can’t leave the kid alone, and we can’t just turn a child over to any third party. With a hostile group of people surrounding you, it’s often best to get out of the area for the safety of all involved. While the cops are on scene, it allows the agitators (excuse me, “activists”) to rile up people on the scene.
“The girl was reunited with her grandmother later in the day. But immigrant rights groups say the episode underscores how federal agents across the country have pushed legal boundaries, sometimes in the presence of children, as they carry out the Trump administration’s agenda to deport millions of undocumented immigrants…
“…It is not clear whether Customs and Border Protection has a policy on how to handle minor children at the scene of an arrest or detention. But ICE agents, a separate Homeland Security agency, are not supposed to drive off with the child of a detainee, according to ICE policy. Local law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County have similar policies requiring officers to call for a social worker.”
If I were to hazard a guess, the investigators asked Mr. Quiñonez who they could transfer the girl to, and he said the grandmother. If he had not, they would transfer the girl to Child Protective Services or a similar facility for her safety. Welcome to police work, ladies. Cops have to deal with a suspect’s child or juvenile every day. Rule of thumb, get them to family or a trusted friend as quickly as possible. It’s best for the kid.
“… Tuesday’s events began when Customs and Border Protection agents arrested five undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Federal authorities said in the affidavit that Mr. Quiñonez got out of his car while holding a hammer “in a threatening manner” about 100 feet away from them. As agents started to drive away, they said they saw Mr. Quiñonez throw two “rock-like” objects at the vehicle before getting back into his own car. After a team of agents boxed in Mr. Quiñonez’s car, he got out and approached the agents, who said they believed he had tried to assault them…
“According to an affidavit by federal authorities, Mr. Quiñonez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, was charged with illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as someone who had previously been convicted of domestic violence. He was convicted of a misdemeanor for injuring a spouse or cohabitant in 2014, the affidavit said…”
OK, a US citizen threatens federal agents in the process of enforcing immigration law. After he is detained, the federal agents discover a weapon and ammunition on him. They run him and discover he has a conviction for domestic violence, which means he cannot carry a firearm (assuming the gun didn’t belong to the two-year-old girl). That’s called investigation 101.
He is charged with a higher crime (it’s a felony for a man convicted of domestic violence to carry a gun). Also, the weapons charge is easier to prove (no need for intent; the fact that he has it is enough).
So no, there is no issue here. An idiot decided to threaten ICE agents enforcing federal law and was found to have a kid in the car with him. He endangered her by being an idiot with those agents. When the child was discovered, they took her into protective custody and transferred her in a reasonable amount of time to a family member.
Reporters trying to make news, that’s par for the course. Correspondents trying to create a false narrative based on a template are also expected. That is too bad. Remember that lie the Washington Post chose as its slogan, Democracy Dies in Darkness? With falsehoods like this, you’re the ones cutting off the lights.
Originally published at A Cop’s Watch.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer with over 23 years of experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years of service and more than ten years of experience in field training newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
MY CONCLUSION:
The New York Times story that Mr. Thiac focuses on above is just one example of thousands of skewed and biased news stories that appear in newspapers, on TV, and in radio news reports every day.
In this case, the NYT story was slanted to ensure that ICE agents were portrayed as Gestapo-like thugs intent on bullying and harassing “innocent” Hispanic migrants for no good reason other than the fact that they are Hispanic.
It is interesting that under President Obama, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents arrested, detained, and deported some 2.5 million illegal migrants, and I don’t recall seeing one story denouncing their activities.
The fact is, ICE and DHS agents are enforcing immigration laws enacted by Congress. Some people may not like that, but the law is the law. If you don’t like those laws, change them. But to harass, impede, threaten, and violently attack federal agents for doing their jobs is not only morally wrong, it is against the law.
It seems antithetical to me that those who are in this country illegally, who violated our laws by surging our open borders under the Biden regime, should somehow believe they deserve to remain in our country legally.
The fact that these 10-12 million illegal aliens are calling for ICE agents to be doxed, attacked, and even killed eliminates any compassion I once had for these lawless ingrates. But when I see numbers that show fully 70 percent of the invaders who are being deported are violent criminals, murderers, child molesters, drug dealers, human traffickers, and gang members, I say good riddance!
And if thousands of illegal migrants who have not committed violent crimes are also swept up in ICE and DHS raids, then that is too bad. You entered our country illegally, an act that reveals you have no respect for our laws or our way of life. America is a nation of laws—not the cesspool of anarchy and chaos that you are probably fleeing. So why do you think it’s a good idea to begin your life in America as a criminal? How do you plan to assimilate, if indeed that is even your goal?
Here are some cogent facts about illegal immigration, according to the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
- Under federal law, improper entry (crossing between ports of entry or evading inspection) is a criminal offense typically prosecuted as a misdemeanor crime; repeat illegal reentry after deportation is a felony.
- Requesting asylum at the border or soon after entry does not erase a migrant’s illegal entry. An asylum case for an undocumented migrant then proceeds through civil processes, regardless of any criminal exposure. Only about 35 percent of those seeking asylum are ever granted that status.
- Overstaying a visa (entering legally and then losing status) is generally considered a civil violation, not a crime, which differs from illegal entry between ports.
The law states that, under Title 8, most noncitizens are removable; however, the process varies. Those covered by expedited removal can be deported quickly without seeing a judge unless they seek asylum; others are placed into regular removal proceedings before an immigration judge and receive fuller due process protection. The DHS may summarily remove noncitizens who entered the country illegally and are apprehended within a prescribed period after entry (typically up to two years) without a judicial hearing.
These facts are almost never mentioned in stories about illegal migrant sweeps conducted by ICE, CBP, and DHS.
Federal agents are doing their jobs by enforcing immigration laws, but to hear many overzealous reporters and the fanatical leftist mobs tell it, ICE, DHS, and CBP officers are equivalent to Nazi Germany’s Geheime Staatspolizei. They stop short of asserting that migrants are being shipped off to death camps, but I suspect that canard will soon be articulated.
At some point, journalists need to stop echoing the leftist/socialist narrative and return to covering the news as objectively as possible— “without fear or favor,” as the New York Times itself promised back in 1896.
Like most Americans, however, I am not holding my breath.
–30–
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