Corner Column

Posted 7/2/20

“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the …

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Corner Column

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“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”

Justice Hugo Black wrote for the 6-3 majority in New York Times versus the U.S. government in 1971 concerning the Pentagon Papers, a top secret report commissioned about the decisions that had led the country into the Vietnam War.

The Times, and later the Washington Post, obtained copies of the report and began publishing stories from its contents. In an unprecedented move, the justice department was able to get an injunction against the Times to stop the stories, but only for a couple weeks until the Supreme Court stood by the First Amendment.

The rest is history, some of which is detailed in the 2017 film, “The Post,” which I had a chance to view recently. I seem to be watching a lot more movies as the usual golf, basketball playoffs, etc. have been on COVID hiatus.

It was a great reminder that, even in small town America, the First Amendment is a guiding principle for all journalists.

The Pentagon Papers revealed that the government was lying to the American people about Vietnam and had been for decades, through several administrations, sacrificing thousands of lives, mostly of young men.

I’m not sure that people have trusted the government much since then.

With the proliferation of news media outlets, at least at the national level, that come to the table with preconceived biases, our brethren in the upper reaches of the profession have given the public reason to distrust us as well, fueled by the claims of “fake news,” which often means real news that doesn’t fit the party line.

A quarter-century before the Pentagon Papers, we ended a war with a fellow who tried to control the news, and thus the thoughts of the people.

In high school I got another sense of propaganda when reading George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”

The pandemic which has consumed our lives has shone a bright light on the government and the media.

While some claim that “the media” is responsible for over-hyping the crisis, the fact is that since no one knew how this might play out, any reaction stands the chance of being ballyhooed if it does not wind up being on target, either by too much or too little.

I can tell you only what we have done at the local level, which is to share as much information as possible as quickly as possible with our limited resources.

I have seen local leaders, doing the best they can without a play book, and being pilloried for some of their decision-making.

Would or could any of us have done any better? That’s doubtful.

You may have read criticism of our governor and our president, and you will have seen it from those who think too much was done as well as from those who still think it has not been enough.

You’re not going to find that in these pages. We know our local leaders, and we know they are doing their best under the most trying, unusual circumstances. They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

There is no reason for us to pile on, nor any benefit.

That being said, however, we still take our role seriously and will continue to observe and report to the best of our ability – to serve the governed.