Twice now, within the space of 12 months, has Trinity seen manifestations of the type of bilious criticism of media outlets that Donald Trump ushered into the mainstream.
If that sounds unfairly menacing, it may be worth reminding yourself of how dozens of campaigners in the 2018 Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) elections disputed allegations of sexual harassment against a presidential candidate: not only were they willing to countenance suggestions of ulterior or conspiratorial motives, but also quite happy to throw Trump’s favourite phrase – “fake news” – around.
This past week, following the release of TCDSU’s 2017/18 accounts, it felt at times that critics of this newspaper came within a hare’s whisker of evoking Trump’s favourite barb about the New York Times, and calling us the “failing” University Times. Some commenters went so far as to call us loss-making, seemingly oblivious to the fact that The University Times is – thankfully – not a publicly traded company, and instead, a student-run institution with no profit imperative.
Although in a good week it would hardly be amusing to hear Trumpian rhetoric within the walls of what’s supposedly the most liberal campus in Ireland, it is particularly unfunny in a week when TCDSU seems to be outwardly questioning the financial future of The University Times.
The University Times has always been subject to criticism. And it would be particularly farcical for a newspaper that prides itself on holding others to account to take exception to others grumbling about how we do things.
But even those with legitimate criticisms now often couch them in the types of corrosive terms that have come to typify similar debates across the pond – the ones we’re all supposedly appalled by. And careless criticisms now abound.
Any political theorist will tell you that newspapers are not merely advantageous to have in a democracy, but fundamental and necessary. This is as true in Trinity as it is anywhere else – and the past year, replete with the tumult of campus occupations, has made this more clear than ever.
Elsewhere, those who grasp the important role newspapers have to play in communities of all sizes are rushing to support these institutions. It’s worth pondering why it’s not happening here.
