Eyes lock. Hand gently touches my forearm for emphasis. Then a firm grip on both shoulders for extra emphasis.

“Thank you for saying his name,” I was told over and over at last week’s INMA World Congress of News Media in New York. “Somebody had to say it out loud.”

All I said, bluntly, was that Donald Trump was the biggest news story in the world.

Trump’s actions in the first 120 days of his second administration have weakened the ecosystem in which journalism operates. That our speech and press are less free and more litigious. That news media leaders need to navigate this environment, rethink brand and marketing messaging, and have courage to report on an antagonist. That there is an obvious chill in the air in media circles.

How is this controversial?

When I asked the 600-strong INMA New York audience if they had experienced anxiety about traveling to the United States for our World Congress, I’d estimate 75% of the room raised their hands. They feared for their safety.

Yet New York was still intact. The New York Times was still there. Even INMA was still standing tall. There’s nothing normal about this, yet I’m glad so many overcame those anxieties as we sold out The TimesCenter and set an INMA New York attendance record.

The funny thing about the first 120 days of Trump 2.0 is what isn’t being spoken. Top people in the news industry won’t speak his name on a public stage. Associations dedicated to a free press say barely a word about his administration. We nibble around the edges with opaque talk of “political challenges” or diplomatic talk of “disturbances from the United States.”

Even at INMA New York, Trump’s presence was everywhere — yet he was rarely mentioned by name.

So imagine the audible gasps from the audience when the second slide of my New York speech was a giant photo of Trump. I didn’t mean to kill the buzz of our opening ceremonies, but isn’t that what you do with an elephant in the room? Let’s get on with it so we can begin to navigate.

President Trump is fond of proactively saying “you’re welcome” when he doesn’t get the thanks he believes he deserves.

So, let’s give credit where credit is due:

• Thanks for the renewed sense of mission in newsrooms.
• Thanks for the surge in investigative reporting.
• Thanks for the expansion of fact-checking operations by media companies as tech platforms retreat under the Trump administration’s green light.
• Thanks for the growth in subscriptions.
• Thanks for encouraging journalists to bravely report in the face of confrontation.
• Thanks for pushing news brands to differentiate amid the lowering of guardrails around AI.
• Thanks for reminding news publishers not to rely on government or tech platforms to fund what we do and pull our punches.
• Thanks for sparking innovation, introspection, and a renewed commitment to press freedom.

Thanks for reminding media companies to talk in plain language that is inclusive to their target audience. Thanks for reminding us to speak the tone of optimism and hope — what connects us, what inspires us, what surprises us. Thanks for giving us permission to have a voice and personality.

Thanks for triggering hard questions about journalism. What is our role in a democracy? How should journalism handle a leader who disregards norms?

Journalism matters. More than ever. Without fear or favour. INMA President Gert Ysebaert opened and closed INMA New York with this observation. Legendary journalist Bob Woodward gave it colour, soul, and life — a reminder of why we do what we do.

We hold truth to power. We inform the public. We build community. We help to preserve democracy. We adapt and innovate. We record history in real time.

Maybe these are mere words in uninteresting times. But these are interesting times, so pay special attention.

For journalism to thrive in a free society, we must fight for the maximum freedom of expression, the press, information, assembly, association, and the market. News media companies need the maximum freedom to innovate. We need freedom from prior restraint, and we need freedom from regulation. With all of these freedoms come an equivalent responsibility, and thanks for this daily reminder.

The freedoms we depend on aren't like on/off switches. They are dimmers. And the battles ahead are for maximum brightness.

I jokingly quoted the great American Michael Corleone of Godfather fame, who said: “It’s nothing personal. It’s strictly business.”

So, let’s talk business. Trump 2.0 is changing the business calculations for news media:

• How we fight to safeguard journalism.
• How hard we protect our copyrights.
• How we market ourselves.
• How we position our brands.
• How we segment audiences.
• How much we cooperate with Big Tech.
• How much we sever government ties.

Not saying Donald Trump’s name isn’t going to change these business calculations.

Always build strategy around things that won’t change. In the next decade, politicians will come and go. But your journalism, your brand, and the tech that carries both will be foundations.

How are those foundations holding up thus far in this new ecosystem that we’re only beginning to fully recognise? Will the next generation look back and be proud that we held true to core values?

Democracy doesn’t die in darkness. It dies in silence. It dies with a thousand pulled punches that weaken journalism and ultimately weaken society.

I didn’t expect such an emotional response to my speech in New York. Yet reflecting on the new environment, I clearly underestimated the moment.

So, it’s OK. Say his name.

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