On MSNBC's The Weekend, Angelo Carusone says Signalgate shows why accountability journalism matters

Carusone: “There's this idea somehow that journalism doesn't matter anymore ... . But it sure does, because when you have a moment like this, people start to ask questions and dig.”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

From the March 29, 2025, edition of MSNBC's The Weekend

ALICIA MENENDEZ (CO-HOST): If you are our allies and you're watching this, what are you thinking? If you are our adversaries, what are you thinking?

ANGELO CARUSONE (MEDIA MATTERS PRESIDENT): I mean, one, you're thinking that they don't obviously care, they don't protect their information very well. And two, they're recalibrating how they're going to interact with us. And it's not just this report. You know, one of the things that happens when these issues take place is that you get other reporting. 

There's this idea somehow that journalism doesn't matter anymore, because maybe their ratings are down a little bit, or people are consuming news different. But it sure does, because when you have a moment like this, people start to ask questions and dig. And what we found out recently is that he's bringing his wife to official meetings and getting where confidential information is being disclosed. He's hiring his brother at a high-level position. This is Pete Hegseth. So, you know, it's not really inspiring confidence. And it obviously is going to change and affect the behavior of those around us. 

And I think to me that's, you know, where the accountability comes in, because it's not just about how you manage the narrative, the public side of this. That's how Trump obviously thinks about it. It's how you actually deal with the mechanics of government and governing. And if there's no accountability, as Symone was noting before, then there's no indication that it gets better. There's no indication that anyone could have confidence in sort of the process or the, you know, the stuff that they share with us. And that, to me, is the really concerning part about all of this is where do we go from here?