This fucking guy…

Trump flew down to Texas again and in the process bashed the media who was covering it the whole time.

His stupid swipe at hard working journalists risking their lives for their craft reminded me of the time I spoke at a Poynter Institute newspaper conference.

I was blown away by all the talks but I’ll never forget one that stood out to me. We were in Kansas and there was a session on how to report during natural disasters without getting injured or getting your access blocked.

Among the gems was always having heavy boots, gloves, ropes, and work clothes including safety vests in the trunk of your car. Stashes of food, MREs, and water in your car were also covered.

Then the speaker talked about preparing his family for this type of work. Given he and his wife were both working reporters, they had a system for swapping kids when either was off assignment and they’d lean on extended family to watch their children if they were both caught in a storm’s path. He spoke of epic tornadoes where he and his wife were both out for 3–4 days at a time away from family, risking their lives to get the full story.

In the Q&A, someone asked if all the risk and sacrifice were worth it. The speaker talked of the importance of chasing a story and how informing the public about events was more important than his own comfort.

When Trump takes swipes at media on the ground during a major storm event, he sounds petty and cynical, but also grossly uninformed about any of the work that goes into making the very news he sits and watches on TV all day in DC.