The media is vital amid Iran war. Forget about what Trump says

What is the media’s job? ● It’s a question that has a lot of answers. There’s the one about the job itself: The work is difficult, the hours are horrible, but at least the pay is bad. There’s the one about afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. ● My favorite is the one about how, when one side tells you it’s raining and the other side tells you it isn’t, it’s not your job to report both sides. Your job is to look out the window and tell people what’s really going on. ● That last one is more important than ever in the wake of the U.S. and Israel striking Iran, and the growing fallout from what is or isn’t a “war,” depending on whom you ask and when. The truth is absolutely critical.

Bill Goodykoontz

Columnist Arizona Republic USA TODAY NETWORK

Trump tries to twist the truth to his whims and demands

It’s also more difficult than ever to find, because Donald Trump’s predilection for trying to twist the truth to his whims and demands has proved surprisingly effective among certain people — as have his and his administration’s relentless attacks on the press.

Reporters should never rely on official statements, and the good ones never have. But now the official statements are just a small part of the equation. In short, you can’t trust them.

Look at the facts instead — facts we know because of the media’s coverage of the war, which is what we’ll call it, despite Trump bypassing Congress, and calling it a “little excursion” (surely he meant “incursion,” but he won’t back down now). Trump’s stated reasons for the attacks, along with those of his administration, have varied. Iran was going to attack U.S. interests in the region. Iran was developing missiles “capable of reaching our beautiful America.” Israel was going to attack Iran, which means Iran would have struck back at U.S. interests, so the U.S. had to strike Iran first. The nuclear sites that Trump said were obliterated by U.S. strikes in June of 2025 needed to be destroyed.

Which, if they were obliterated, why would … never mind. Logic is not job one here.

There have been lots of stories about all this and more, as well as reporting on what the endgame is, to the extent that one exists besides Trump saying, “We win” and moving on to the next thing. Regime change hasn’t panned out. Taking control of the oil is proving difficult. Unconditional surrender doesn’t seem to be on the table. The whole people’s uprising thing seems like it was more of a first-day idea.

Pete Hegseth knows the death of American soldiers is front-page news

Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is out there telling reporters things like, “When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” Hegseth said. “I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality.”

The reality, of course, is that American soldiers have died and, as Trump has pointed out, will continue to. It is, indeed, front-page news. If that makes the president look bad, so be it, but that’s not the reason to report it. The reason to report it is so that Americans know what is going on.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked about New York Times reports that the U.S. was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed at least 175 people, most of them children, took the usual route. Trump had said — after suggesting that maybe Iran had gotten ahold of Tomahawks and hit the school itself — that he “just didn’t know enough about it”and that the fatal strikes were under investigation.

No, Karoline Leavitt, asking tough questions isn’t harassment

“He has said he will accept the conclusion of that investigation, and frankly we’re not going to be harassed by the New York Times, who’s been putting out a lot of articles on this and making claims that have just not been verified by the Department of War,” Leavitt said.

Harassed? Asking tough questions isn’t harassment, although I suppose if you’ve kicked out as many legitimate reporters as you can and welcomed in sycophantic cosplay “journalists,” it may seem like it.

On that front, the Washington Post reports that the Defense Department has barred photographers from press briefings after publishing photos of Hegseth that he and his staff considered “unflattering.” It’s good to know that the important things still matter, even in dire times.

Look, it’s not like the government hasn’t lied about wars before. Vietnam is just one bloody example. Or George W. Bush lying the U.S. into war with Iraq. But Trump lies about everything. And when it comes to war, his administration seems to be making it up as they go along.

So what, ultimately, is the job of the media? Again, it’s the same as it always has been: To find the truth and tell it, no matter what. It really is our only hope.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic. com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOn-Film. Media commentary with a side of snark? Sign up for The Watchlist newsletter with Bill Goodykoontz.