Skip to content

Dan Kennedy in the Press

Dan Kennedy for Northeastern Global News

Did TV networks make the right choice to air Trump’s live border wall address?

Did TV networks make the right choice to air Trump’s live border wall address?

The major television networks in the United States have made the right decision to air President Donald J. Trump’s prime time address on border security on Tuesday, according to Dan Kennedy, a media critic and associate professor of journalism at Northeastern.
It’s OK for The New York Timesto run an anonymous op-ed. But not for the author to remain anonymous.

It’s OK for The New York Timesto run an anonymous op-ed. But not for the author to remain anonymous.

The decision by The New York Times to publish an anonymous op-ed from a “senior official in the Trump administration” has drawn the accusation that it was a reckless departure from normal journalistic standards. Dan Kennedy, a media critic and journalism professor at Northeastern, said that the piece is controversial because the person who wrote it could’ve taken “a more principled stand” by revealing his or her identity.
#FreePress editorial campaign unites newspapers against ‘Trump’s anti-First Amendment rhetoric’

#FreePress editorial campaign unites newspapers against ‘Trump’s anti-First Amendment rhetoric’

On Thursday, hundreds of newspapers across the United States and abroad published editorials emphasizing the importance of a free press for a healthy democracy. Dan Kennedy, a nationally-known media commentator at Northeastern, says the outcry from media outlets is “an exercise in standing up for our values and defending the First Amendment at a moment when we are under attack.”
The real danger in Trump’s ‘dishonest and corrupt media awards’

The real danger in Trump’s ‘dishonest and corrupt media awards’

Tonight, President Trump may announce “the most dishonest and corrupt media awards of the year,” per one of his tweets last week. Then again, he may not, according to journalism professor Dan Kennedy. Either way, the danger is that Trump’s been able to “reinforce the idea that his followers should cocoon themselves inside a media bubble.”
With Bannon back at Breitbart, what’s next?

With Bannon back at Breitbart, what’s next?

After stepping down from his role as White House chief strategist on Friday, Bannon returned to Breitbart News. Associate professor Dan Kennedy, a nationally known media commentator, says Bannon will use the media platform to “go after the people whom he considered to be diluting the nationalist agenda that Donald Trump has been articulating.”
Professor: Press briefing blackouts compound tensions between media, White House

Professor: Press briefing blackouts compound tensions between media, White House

While the White House has banned recording certain White House press briefings, journalism professor Dan Kennedy says that’s not what we should be watching anyway.
Publishing the Trump dossier: Inevitable or unjustifiable?

Publishing the Trump dossier: Inevitable or unjustifiable?

When news broke of a top-ranking intelligence briefing about allegations involving President-elect Donald Trump and Russia, many outlets covered the story, but only one published the salacious details. Here, two journalism professors offer counter viewpoints about that outlet’s decision, with one arguing “the information was bound to be disclosed or leaked,” and the other calling the decision “misguided” and noting that “raw intelligence of the sort is often wrong.”
Post-election forum examines media’s campaign coverage

Post-election forum examines media’s campaign coverage

Students, faculty, and staff convened on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the results of the 2016 presidential election. Discussion topics ranged from the credibility of the nation’s leading pollsters to the freedom of the press under a Trump administration, but talk frequently returned to the media’s coverage of one of the dirtiest political campaigns in the nation’s history.
Would Abraham Lincoln have voted for Trump or Clinton?

Would Abraham Lincoln have voted for Trump or Clinton?

To ease the tension of Election Day, we asked seven faculty members to participate a quirky thought experiment that challenged each of them to consider how one well known but long dead person in their respective fields would have voted in the 2016 presidential election. The responses were insightful, sobering, and occasionally hilarious.
3Qs: Do newspapers’ presidential endorsements even matter?

3Qs: Do newspapers’ presidential endorsements even matter?

If the outcome of the 2016 presidential election were based on newspaper endorsements, then Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump in a historic landslide. But Dan Kennedy, associate professor of journalism, doesn’t think that endorsements will have much sway over voters on Election Day, and says “such endorsements are more an expression of values than a genuine attempt to persuade voters to change their minds.”