JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: In two weeks, Alabama voters head to the polls to pick their next
U.S. senator in a campaign rocked by allegations of sex abuse and counteraccusations of a media
witch-hunt.
Now a foiled sting operation is bring the divide between journalism and political activism
to the forefront.
The story broke last night.
The Washington Post says it was targeted by a conservative group.
According to The Post, a woman came forward claiming that Alabama's Republican Senate
candidate Roy Moore got her pregnant when she was a teenager.
She identified herself as Jaime Phillips, seen on the right in this video recorded by
The Post.
STEPHANIE MCCRUMMEN, The Washington Post: I want you to know this is being recorded.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But reporter Stephanie McCrummen and others found inconsistencies in her claims.
They also asked about an online comment of hers that suggested she's working with a group
that goes after mainstream media, or MSM.
STEPHANIE MCCRUMMEN: Do you still have an interest in working in the conservative media
movement to combat the lies and deceit of the liberal MSM?
Is that still your interest?
WOMAN: No, no, not really, not at this point.
STEPHANIE MCCRUMMEN: Yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Post decided not to publish the story, and Monday morning, reporters spotted
Phillips walking into the New York City offices of Project Veritas.
The group is run by longtime activist James O'Keefe and has a history of targeting the
news media and Democratic organizations using undercover video.
Meanwhile, Roy Moore himself took aim at the media last night.
He faces multiple claims of approaching or molesting teenage girls, but he's denied any
wrongdoing.
ROY MOORE (R), Alabama Senatorial Candidate: They're trying to hide the true issues.
It's no different than when The Washington Post brought out the Russian investigation
at a time when President Trump is trying to get his agenda passed.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Outside the venue, several Moore campaign staffers scuffled with a FOX
News camera crew.
Meanwhile, on Twitter yesterday, President Trump called for a contest.
He said it would decide -- quote -- "which of the networks, plus CNN and not including
FOX, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage."
The winner, said Mr. Trump, will receive the fake news trophy.
For a closer look at all the , we're joined by Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at The
Washington Post, and Michelle Holmes.
She's vice president of content at the Alabama Media Group, which publishes the state's three
largest newspapers.
Welcome to both of you.
Margaret Sullivan, to you first.
What tipped off The Post reporters that what this woman, Jamie Phillips, was saying to
them wasn't true?
MARGARET SULLIVAN, The Washington Post: Judy, The Post was doing what good reporters always
do, which, as you know, which is to do a background check and to find out as much as possible
about someone before going with their story.
So they were doing fairly standard kind of background check, and one of the things that
they turned up -- I mean, there were a number of red flags, but probably the most obvious
one was that they found a GoFundMe page on the Internet that seemed to suggest that Jamie
Phillips had gone to work or was going to work for an organization that would set out
to discredit establishment media.
So this was something that certainly caught The Post's eye.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And to you, Michelle Holmes, what has been the reaction there in Alabama
to The Post exposing this attempt at a sting?
MICHELLE HOLMES, Alabama Media Group: Certainly, we in our newsroom are incredibly grateful
and proud of the work that The Washington Post is doing.
I think it certainly makes a mark for excellent journalism everywhere and lifts us all.
I think across Alabama, I certainly hope this sends a message of the kind of dirty and underhanded
tactics that people are doing and attempting to discredit the media at this really critical
time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Margaret Sullivan, when you couple this with what we have seen as President
Trump's repeated attempts to criticize, discredit the news media through the campaign, through
his presidency, to make the press essentially look dishonest, what effect do you think that
has on the American people?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Well, Judy, for some people, of course, it only makes their resolve greater
that they want to understand what is true and follow reputable news sources.
But I think for a number of other people, it does cast doubt.
You know, it creates confusion.
Who is telling the truth?
Should we really mistrust the news media as much as the president says or even half as
much as he says?
So it creates an atmosphere in which truth is muddied.
You don't really know who to trust, and some people throw up their hands and say, well,
I'm going to tune out.
I don't know exactly who is right or who is wrong.
It's all a big mess.
And I think that's very dangerous.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Michelle Holmes, all of this is obviously subjective.
I'm asking the two of you to estimate, to give us your judgment of how the public is
reacting, but what do you find in Alabama about trust of the media?
Your own news organization editorialized against Roy Moore.
Are people still able to trust the reporting that your organization does, do you think?
MICHELLE HOLMES: We have had really strong response thanking us for the work that we
have been doing.
And I do think people in Alabama are intelligent and are able to distinguish an institutional
editorial voice from the kind of day-to-day hard reporting that our staff is doing.
Look, our team of reporters are primarily people who were born and raised in Alabama.
They're the neighbors of all of our news consumers.
And I think many people see through the tactics of fake news.
Certainly, you know, the president's push has played a really disturbing role, however,
and we feel that ripple, too.
But I think, in Alabama, the work that we're doing is being seen for what it is, trying
to call out truths in a really important time in Alabama politics and American politics.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Margaret Sullivan, how do you measure this erosion of trust on the part
of news consumers?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Well, of course, you can look at the public opinion polls, and the
numbers are discouraging there.
But we also know that trust in institutions in general is way down.
I have been trying to get out and talk to ordinary voters for months now, and, actually,
I don't find that kind of virulent dislike and mistrust that we see in the polls when
I talk to regular people, including a lot of Trump voters.
So I think it's a question of, is it the media, and who knows what that means, or is it the
media that I follow, which I actually think most people feel pretty good about?
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Margaret Sullivan, how do you see the role of the press in addressing
this increasingly distrustful, at least in some quarters, increasingly distrustful and
sometimes outright hostile attitude toward the media, the news media?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Judy, I think, for the most part, we have to do our jobs as best
we can, and we also have to be as transparent as we can with our readers or viewers, news
consumers, about how we this our work.
For example, in The Post's original story about Roy Moore, there was a paragraph that
was very clear about how the women had not approached The Post.
The Post idea had actually found these women and encouraged and convinced them to come
forward.
And I think that helps people understand sort of how the sausage is made.
And the more we can be transparent, I think the more trust we can engender.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, some certainly remarkable reporting done by The Washington Post and
commendable reporting certainly done by the Alabama Media Group.
I want to thank both of you, Michelle Holmes joining us from Alabama, Margaret Sullivan
at The Post.
Thank you both.
MICHELLE HOLMES: Thank you.