In many respects, the 21st century hasn't been kind to journalism.

The proliferation of new sites and channels has fragmented audiences, and reliance on digital advertising has slashed revenue. Social media platforms now deliver oceans of content to every corner of the Earth. This development, when coupled with the absence of accountability that dependable news organizations pride themselves on, is a dreadful one-two punch.

President Donald Trump came into office railing against many of the foundations of our democratic institutions, including a free press.

In the last decade, the ugliest and most cunning threat to journalism comes from leaders in different parts of the world increasingly questioning not just the veracity of what is being reported, which isn't new, but the integrity of those who report it, which is. Some leaders have gone further and egged on their supporters to target and harass anyone they don't approve of in the media.

President Donald Trump came into office railing against many of the foundations of our democratic institutions, including a free press. Forty months into his administration, coverage of the coronavirus outbreak is the latest sign that — contrary to conventional wisdom — he hasn't laid a glove on serious journalism. His attacks, most recently against excellent reporters like Jonathan Karl (ABC), Yamiche Alcindor (PBS), Peter Alexander (NBC) and Paula Reid (CBS), put the bully in bully pulpit, but they haven't shaken the soul of the First Amendment.

Trump's daily briefings, which sometimes include pertinent and significant information, have also frequently become a sideshow, filled with false and misleading statements, compulsive boasting and self-promotional videos. That's why with each live briefing, many news outlets, including ours, are aggressively fact-checking in real time, assessing the value to viewers minute to minute and cutting away when warranted.

Despite these challenges, what has become powerfully clear during this pandemic is that the heart of journalism has never been stronger. As ever, journalists are asking tough questions and going where the facts lead. Not looking to win any popularity contests — just doing what Woodward and Bernstein inspired my generation and the generations that followed to always do: seek the best obtainable version of the truth.

Over the past four decades, I've covered a wide array of miserable catastrophes, wars and social upheaval, but the hallmarks of good journalism have seldom seemed more important than they do right now. More than 300 million Americans are sheltering in place — with more than 26 million of them now unemployed — and they're looking for accurate, updated information about this terrifying story and what may lie ahead. They're looking to journalists to counter misinformation that endangers lives and livelihoods. And they're seeking out the perspectives that give us hope: those of the extraordinarily brave nurses and doctors and public health experts on the front lines of this battle.

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Reporters have been on this story from the start, tracking the spread of the coronavirus without fear or favor, faithfully doing their jobs even — and especially — in this perilous time. Every day, with every story, they try to find what is most relevant to the public and relentlessly work to uncover the essence of what it means.