• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, June 10, 2016

If it weren’t for the overwhelming wall-to-wall coverage of Donald Trump over the course of the 2016 primary cycle, who knows what the political climate would look like today? Then again, revisionist history is often not of much use. We’re here now, and Trump will be the Republican nominee.

One fact is certain: Trump received exponentially more coverage than his opponents throughout the news media, much of it on TV, but his presence was also inordinate in the written press.

On the morning of May 31, when responding to questions about his unwillingness to be open about the fundraiser for veterans that he held four months ago, Trump went on the attack against the press he believes has treated him unfairly: “The political press is among the most dishonest people that I’ve ever met. The press is so dishonest and so unfair.”

As The Washington Post put it, Trump’s comments that morning were “little short of a declaration of war.”

The job of a political reporter is to ask questions that will probe a politician’s policy prescriptions and fill in blanks or highlight contradictions. Instead of responding to questions in a straightforward and honest manner, the GOP nominee often pivots directly to personal attacks and decries his distaste for the very mechanism that played such an important role in his rise.

A Trump presidency will likely be terrifying for a free press protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He has said he wants to “open up libel laws,” whatever that means. “Open up,” sounds like expanding the definition of libel, a scary proposition for journalists, and one that is reminiscent of an Erdogan in Turkey or a Putin in Russia.

The New York Times cited legal experts last week who explained that Trump’s “blustery attacks on the press, complaints about the judicial system and bold claims of presidential power collectively sketch out a constitutional worldview that shows contempt for the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law.”

It is time for the media to elevate a 21st century Edward R. Murrow, the legendary journalist who was integral in the exposure of Sen. Joe McCarthy in the 1950s. According to The Huffington Post, we’re on the cusp of such a moment.

Other than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the media apparatus will be among the most important players in the 2016 presidential election. Let’s hope we can live up to the task.