Journalists are increasingly under fire, figuratively and literally. Figuratively, the most recent victim under “fire” is award-winning broadcast veteran Scott Pelley. I was disappointed, but unsurprised, to see former Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, in the Washington Times this month supporting CBS’s firing of long-time journalist Scott Pelley. Pelley rose up the ranks of journalism the old-fashioned way, starting as a copyboy at age 15 in his 1970’s hometown Texas newspaper. Eventually he became CBS News’ nightly news anchor and then correspondent with America’s investigative journalism flagship series of over a half century, 60 Minutes. It was there that he became its most award-winning correspondent with 51 Emmys.
On the score of literally under “fire,” Pelley covered several war zones from the inside. From the Iraq War of 1991 to Afghanistan, where on the latter he accompanied US Army and Marine units in his reporting on civilian at risk in war zones. Further, in 2006/07 he covered Sudan’s genocide in Darfur and personally helped organize a rebel group for a reconnaissance mission to expose the genocide taking place in Sudan.
In response to this arguably commendable, if not brave, service by Scott Pelley in dangerous combat zones, Walker asserted in his Washington Times’ commentary, “That is like saying you are a dairy farmer because you have watched cows in a milking parlor.” Not quite. This is no parlor game. As reported by the “Committee to Protect Journalists,” 129 journalists were killed in 2025, with over 75% of those covering war zones or paramilitary criminal networks. Over 2000 have been killed since 1992. Worse, journalists are not only killed by virtue of being in dangerous settings but increasingly are themselves targets of militaries seeking to punish journalists.
Deploying his customary inuendo, former Governor Walker hinted Pelley’s firing was linked to misrepresentation of his journalistic record. CBS asserted no such thing. Pelley’s termination resulted from a spirited exchange of words between him and management over the direction of the network. CBS never declared it was anything other. Pelley’s remarks to CBS might have been intemperate in his defense of investigative journalism. But there were zero assertions by CBS of misrepresentations by Pelley.
Journalists are imperfect. But silencing them through the purse or, worse, is abhorrent and places our increasingly fragile freedoms at risk. President Trump has characterized the press as “fake news,” “enemy of the people,” “dishonest,” “corrupt,” “low life reporters,” “bad people,” “human scum,” “some of the worst human beings you’ll ever meet,” “fake,” “phony,” “nasty,” “disgraced,” “dumb,” “clueless,” “stupid,” “sad,” “failing,” “crazy,” “dishonest,” “phony,” and “disgraced.” “Perhaps most notoriously, he directed one Bloomberg reporter on Air Force One to be “quiet piggy.” While we all have seen elements of the US press at times in just these terms, who hasn’t seen President Trump as all these nearly all the time?
The above rhetoric from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is bad enough for modeling hypocrisy. One could, however, argue journalists “dish it out” and should be able to “take it.” But beyond puerile invective, the more disconcerting actions by Trump’s Administration have been weaponizing the Department of Justice to block media mergers to punish disfavored outlets. Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) changed laws, e.g., “fairness doctrine” to elicit cooperation from late-night networks to restrain or fire late-night comedians. Then there are the endless Trump lawsuits intimidating the press by suing them for $millions, and even $billions, whose message presumably is, “shape up or you could be next.”
Trump’s strong-arm tactics, however, are not Scott Walker’s. Wisconsin’s former Governor prefers misrepresentations passing muster as plausible deniability. As former Richard Nixon White House Counsel, John Dean, asserted in 2015, Scott Walker is “more Nixonian than Nixon.” In some ways Walker is as dangerous as Trump. Trump’s tactics, if not lies, are visible for all to see. Walker’s, however, customarily were served by stealth and meant to be genuinely believed, not just blindly obeyed to signal loyalty, as with Trump.
Regardless, freedom can’t survive, let alone thrive, in such environments. The press is not above criticism, but it must be on the score of real facts and not, as Scott Walker opened in his attack commentary, because Pelley is “an arrogant jerk.” Untruths and bullying are not the provenance of any one political party. But current GOP intimidation attacks on the press are bereft of facts and bad for the country and press alike.
The season of indecency is upon us, and figures such as Donald Trump and Scott Walker lead the charge. Effective resistance, or not, will dictate whether this becomes a rout of the public interest, or merely an unpleasant Charge of the Light Brigade farce.
