At the very foundation of our representative democracy is a
free press. It was deemed so important;
it was protected by way of our constitution’s first amendment. This amendment was written to ensure that all
Americans have unfettered access to trustworthy news.
Congress shall make no law…, abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press….
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| Revolutionary War Newspapers |
Sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, a free press,
while not a direct part of the political system, represents a “fourth power” if
you will, to balance our legislative, executive and judicial branches of
government. Since ours is a government
“of the people,” a free press is essential to providing critical information to
the people.
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| Common Sense by Thomas Paine |
At the very beginnings of our democracy, the publication of newspapers, pamphlets, and books by a free press, were pivotal in galvanizing this nation into the actions that resulted in its creation. From the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787, the free press has made its pronouncements and informed the people. In the ensuing 240 plus years, this free press has grown and morphed into the juggernaut that it is. Technology has expanded the impact of the printing press and has supplemented it with radio, television, and the Internet. This expansion has not been without its challenges however and we must be ever vigilant in assuring that it remains free.
In my home town of Miami, I grew up at a time when the city
supported two major newspapers; the morning edition Miami Herald and the
evening edition Miami News. I actually
delivered the latter tabloid by bicycle in the late 50’s. Eventually the Miami News closed its doors in
1988, after suffering annual financial deficits in the millions of
dollars. The Miami Herald is still
published as a daily newspaper but there are indications that
it too is now in dire straits. Yes, the Miami Herald has been in continuous publication since 1903, and has won 22 Pulitzer Prizes, yet it is floundering. Signs of its
suffering are seen in the diminished size of current editions along with a
tremendous reduction in the quality of its content. While they seem to maintain an accuracy in
their reporting, spelling errors and poor grammar are now commonplace. Over half the weight of the paper is
advertising.
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| Miami Herald Building Now Sold to an Investment Group, Possible Casino Site? |
It is sad to see the decline of the printed newspaper but,
with all the varying sources of information today, it is no wonder that our
“free press” will at some point in the very near future, no longer use presses
or paper. We can only hope that one of
the remaining information conduits will pick up the mantle in a manner fitting
the integrity once provided by our vaunted newspapers.
Maintaining the balance of power in our three main branches
of government is a daunting task. Without a free press our democracy will almost
certainly shift further toward the Oligarchy that many fear is already a fait
accompli. A free press and a free
exchange of ideas will be essential if we are to reverse this trend. It is apparent to some that the current cries
of nationalism with its underpinnings in xenophobia are an attempt to further
steer this country toward one governed by the “rule of the few.” The shift of power from “the people” to those
individuals with personal wealth, family ties, or corporate wealth is already
happening.
One of the ways this is happening is the three-pronged
attack on our free press. First, the
press is vilified by those seeking to negate its influence. Cries of “Fake News” come easily from our
current president and his minions in a continuing attack of our free
press. The second prong of the attack is
through ownership and direct control of the press so that it is no longer “free”
but merely an extension of the thoughts and ideas of the owner. The third prong of the attack is through the
willful and wanton dissemination of false information so that it becomes
extremely difficult to separate fact from fiction. I’m sure most of us can think of several
examples of each of these attack fronts on our free press.
The media watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders has just published its 2018 World Press Freedom Index, and the US came in at number 45. Yes, the United States, that touts free speech and freedom of the press as part of its very foundation, now ranks behind countries like Estonia, Surinam, Latvia, Namibia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, and Romania. We slipped two slots from last year reportedly because of President Trump's incendiary anti-press rhetoric and his desire to limit media access. His antagonism against journalists in this country and abroad is referred to as the "Trump effect." They describe President Trump as a "media-bashing enthusiast."
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| While the quote above looks like something Jefferson might have said, please note that he never wrote/said those words. I include it here because someone should say it . It was easy to repudiate the credit using the wonderful Thomas Jefferson Foundation site. * |
I'm sure there is a cave painting somewhere depicting that the artist killed three antelopes that day when he really only brought home one rabbit and a few berries. Thus began "Fake News." Braggadocio, pomposity, bluster, chutzpah, call it what you will, it is all a LIE. We should not tolerate it from our politicians or our news sources. Lies cut in all directions.
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| The Beginning of Fake News |
While most of the newspapers of our historic past maintained
high levels of integrity and vigilantly pursued the truth, many of our more
recent information conduits have had a less than stellar record of
accomplishment in the area of accurate and truthful reporting of the facts. Most of us know the bias shown by certain
cable news outlets. We have FOX News on
the left and MSNBC on the right. CNN
might be seen as center-left. Each of
these news outlets has individual shows or personalities with varying degrees
of inclination left or right of center and some of these have regularly delved
into the realm of pure fantasy.
When we look toward the Internet, we find a veritable Wild
West mentality where separating fact from fiction requires effort. The fact that this same Internet provides all
of the tools that make it relatively easy to validate most information, does
not belie the fact that most individuals aren’t willing or motivated to make
that effort. Validation of information does require motivation to find the real truth and not just another accomodation of a desired opinion.
It is perhaps fitting here to provide a quote from none
other than Edgar Allan Poe and an excerpt from his 1845 short story “The System
of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether.” This
passage is spoken by the head of a private hospital for the mentally ill.
“You are young yet, my friend,” replied my
host, “but the time will arrive when you will learn to judge for yourself of
what is going on in the world, without trusting to the gossip of others.”
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one-half that you see.”
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| Edgar Allan Poe |
This passage is even more fitting when you know that, in
this hospital for the mentally ill, a recent rebellion by the patients has
resulted in the incarceration of the staff, and that the inmates are now running
the asylum. Given the current occupant
of the White House, I find the analogy quite fitting if not eerily accurate.
While we, with good reason in the past, trusted newspapers
and major news sources to provide us with fair and accurate reports, our trust
has been squandered in the name of corporate profits and a thirst for
power. The old adage to trust but verify
could be updated to verify, verify, and verify again, before you trust
anything. It is a sad state of affairs
but, in our modern information society, the manipulation of information has
significant political, economic, and societal consequences.
My recommendations would be to:
- · Gather your information from multiple sources.
- · Watch/read news sources that provide opinions differing from your own
- · Use common sense, if it sounds outrageous, it quite possibly is false, so verify
- · Don’t forward or repeat something you have not validated as fact
- · Re-read the advice above from Edgar Allan Poe
"....but the only security of all is in a free press. the force of public opinion cannot be resisted, when permitted freely to be expressed. the agitation it produces must be submitted to. it is necessary to keep the waters pure."
Entertaining, thought-provoking and well done as always, Jack! The quotes were well-chosen; love them all!
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