TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now taking aim at the media.
DeSantis has launched a media war, claiming journalism has damaging impacts, and he wants the Florida Legislature to do something about it.
The made-for-TV staging was only broadcast on the governor’s social media Tuesday morning.
“It seems now, pursue the narrative, you’re trying to advance the agenda, trying to get the clicks, and the fact checking, the contrary facts, all that has kind of fallen by the wayside,” DeSantis said.
It’s his critique of (what they call) corporate or legacy media.
A roundtable held Tuesday morning was arranged to brainstorm ideas for legislation. It included those maligned by the media, and lawyers who help them.
Nick Sandmann was a student shamed publicly by a false narrative from a clip of video taken out of context.
“What you got was a rush to judgement,” Sandmann said. “They took a 60-second clip off twitter.”
In another case, attorney Vel Freedman’s client is suing CNN despite a retraction by the network.
“There are instances where people are really taken advantage of, where the law is not necessarily fair to some folks, and he’s having a thought provoking discussion about how to minimize those issues,” said Freedman.
DeSantis brought specific spot-on examples, such as a selectively edited 60 Minutes segment accusing the governor of Pay for Paly with Publix campaign donations.
He did not bring in talk of business models, social media influence or audience demands.
“I think creating incentives for the media to do ethical journalism as opposed to fast journalism, I think that would be good for everyone,” said attorney Libby Locke.
It’s likely that DeSantis will give Florida lawmakers the framework for legislation to help the public fight back against media stories.