Trump Makes It the Department of War But Will American Media Follow Suit?

News editors, still uneasy after the White House expelled the Associated Press for refusing to adopt the name Gulf of America, are facing a new dilemma with President Trump’s rebranding of the Pentagon as the Department of War.So far no major news organization has announced it will use the new name in its day-to-day reporting, and the decision may be made easier by Mr. Trump’s acknowledgement that the new name will serve only as a “secondary title” until the change can be approved by Congress.But Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing ahead aggressively with the new language, changing signage at the Pentagon, adopting the acronym DOW in place of DOD in internal communications, and changing the url of the department’s public-facing website to war.gov.Some hints at how American media might respond can be gleaned from the initial coverage of Mr. Trump’s announcement at an Oval Office event on Friday, when he signed an executive order implementing the change of name.The Washington Post appears to be standing its ground, referring in its Friday coverage to the “Defense Department website,” even as it quotes a post from Mr. Hegseth saying his department has become “@DeptofWar.”The New York Times appeared to signal its preference by placing quotation marks around the new name but not the old when it wrote that the president had “ceremonially recognized the Defense Department as the ‘Department of War.’”At the other end of the political spectrum, the Fox News website took the same approach, writing that Mr. Trump’s order “gives the green light to use the name ‘Department of War’ as a secondary title for the Department of Defense.”Another Trump-friendly outlet, Newsmax, referred to the “War Dept Shift” in its headline but did not tilt either way in the text of its article.At the Associated Press, where editors retain grim memories of an earlier name dispute with the president, there is no indication that it will adopt the new terminology, at least before it is enshrined into law.The agency, which provides content to news outlets across the political spectrum, repeatedly refers to the war-making organization in its Friday coverage as the “Department of Defense” and to its chief as “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”That could open the door to another contretemps between the agency and the president, who barred AP reporters from White House briefings and other official events for 44 days because of the agency’s refusal to adopt the name Gulf of America for the body of water bordering the country’s southern coast.The AP regained access only after challenging its ouster in court and continues to use the 400-year-old name, arguing it serves clients around the world who would not welcome the change.A Google News search suggests that other major news organizations have been largely able to avoid the issue, a dodge that may become more difficult as this year’s hurricane season progresses.The New York Times, in one of very few references, uses the name “Gulf of Mexico” without reference to any alternative in an August 14 weather story. The Washington Post also ignores Mr. Trump’s edict, headlining an August 15 climate story beginning, “Gulf of Mexico waters are hottest on record.”A search of Foxnews.com finds only one article referring to the body of water since the initial coverage of Mr. Trump’s name change in early February – a May 10 report on Mexico’s lawsuit challenging the name change. That article artfully avoids favoring either name with references to the “body of water” or simply “the gulf.”A September 6 article on Newsmax uses the name “Gulf of America” only in quotation marks while, in at least one reference, using Gulf of Mexico without quotes. Both Fox and Newsmax joined other news organizations in opposing Mr. Trump’s decision to bar the AP from White House press briefings.It has been harder for newspapers located along the southern coast to avoid the issue. Numerous articles have appeared since February in the Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald, and Dallas Morning News referring to the body as the Gulf of Mexico.Mr. Trump has had better luck with Google Maps, which has changed the name to Gulf of America for internet users in the United States. Elsewhere in the world, users see the body of water labeled as Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).

Trump Makes It the Department of War But Will American Media Follow Suit?

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