General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsShout out to 300+ newspapers running free press editorials Thursday!
Post them as you find them — preferably with links!
Boston Globe, whose idea it was.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,706 posts)To this president, the journalist’s time-honored role in a democracy is meaningless. Reporters present a fact-finding counter to the fanciful narrative Trump spins daily.
It is evident by now that Trump’s perpetual grievance with the press is not a function of temper or thin skin. What Trump calls “fake news” is mostly information and views with which he is uncomfortable — the revelation of lies, the contradiction of misinformation. He is not alone in this. Authoritarian leaders in other countries regularly threaten, punish and imprison reporters who challenge the ruling regime’s line. Journalists from such countries who visit America have marveled at the freedom and safety afforded American reporters as they do their jobs.
That freedom is vital to democracy, which depends on an informed electorate. The founders of this nation understood that. They built strong First Amendment protections for a press that in their day was savagely partisan, with few pretensions to neutrality. Journalists’ role, then as now, was to be a check on power, one that was not controlled by government — and constitutionally could not be. Journalists go where citizens often cannot, and are able to ask all the loud, messy, uncomfortable questions politicians would rather not answer, to shine a light in dark corners.
The rest: http://www.startribune.com/a-unified-word-against-attacks-on-the-press/490964981/
Hekate
(90,704 posts)
Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)A Free Press Needs You
By The Editorial Board
AUG. 15, 2018
In 1787, the year the Constitution was adopted, Thomas Jefferson famously wrote to a friend, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
That’s how he felt before he became president, anyway. Twenty years later, after enduring the oversight of the press from inside the White House, he was less sure of its value. “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper,” he wrote. “Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.”
Jefferson’s discomfort was, and remains, understandable. Reporting the news in an open society is an enterprise laced with conflict. His discomfort also illustrates the need for the right he helped enshrine. As the founders believed from their own experience, a well-informed public is best equipped to root out corruption and, over the long haul, promote liberty and justice.
“Public discussion is a political duty,” the Supreme Court said in 1964. That discussion must be “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open,” and “may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”
In 2018, some of the most damaging attacks are coming from government officials. Criticizing the news media — for underplaying or overplaying stories, for getting something wrong — is entirely right. News reporters and editors are human, and make mistakes. Correcting them is core to our job. But insisting that truths you don’t like are “fake news” is dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy. And calling journalists the “enemy of the people” is dangerous, period.
These attacks on the press are particularly threatening to journalists in nations with a less secure rule of law and to smaller publications in the United States, already buffeted by the industry’s economic crisis. And yet the journalists at those papers continue to do the hard work of asking questions and telling the stories that you otherwise wouldn’t hear. Consider The San Luis Obispo Tribune, which wrote about the death of a jail inmate who was restrained for 46 hours. The account forced the county to change how it treats mentally ill prisoners.
Answering a call last week from The Boston Globe, The Times is joining hundreds of newspapers, from large metro-area dailies to small local weeklies, to remind readers of the value of America’s free press. These editorials, some of which we’ve excerpted, together affirm a fundamental American institution.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to your local papers. Praise them when you think they’ve done a good job and criticize them when you think they could do better. We’re all in this together.
Sizing Up The South Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands “The SPJ Region 3 leadership, including in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Alabama, believes it is equally important for local news outlets to repudiate the onslaught of hostility toward the press. We must stand firm with our brothers and sisters in journalism as a family, supporting our First Amendment right to report accurately on our government.”
The Forward “American Jews, like all other minorities, have a special stake in maintaining an independent press, to ensure that our voices are heard — at any time, in any language.”
The Arizona Daily Sun Flagstaff, Ariz.
The Tucson Sentinel Tucson, Ariz.
The North Little Rock Times North Little Rock, Ark.
Van Buren County Democrat Clinton, Ark. “And of all the reactions to ‘Enemy of the People’ the one most overpowering is disappointment. Words, after all, matter – a point we prove every week. And those words, from that pulpit, are unacceptable and utterly, utterly, wrong.”
Dixon’s Independent Voice Dixon, Calif.
The Idyllwild Town Crier Idyllwild, Calif. “A person who blasts reliable news sources as fake when they prove him wrong on an issue, or when it reveals his self-contradictions or his ignorance, or whenever he simply doesn’t like it, is denying reality.”
The Mercury News and East Bay Times San Jose, Calif. “Journalists are trying to do a job. We’re not trying to tear down our nation. We’re trying to strengthen it. For we believe in the foundational premise behind the First Amendment – that our nation is stronger if its people are informed.”
The North Coast Journal Eureka, Calif.
The San Diego Union-Tribune San Diego, Calif. “Distrust is not easy to dismantle. But journalists at The San Diego Union-Tribune and nationwide will keep advocating for a free and fair press. With this president. And the next. And the next. And the next. And all who follow.”
The SLO Tribune San Luis Obispo, Calif. “It’s reporter Nick Wilson writing about a 76-year-old man in need of a kidney transplant who didn’t expect to survive the five-year wait for an organ donation. Thanks to Nick’s story, an anonymous donor stepped up within the month and donated a kidney.”
The Southern California News Group California “Words have power, and none so much here in the United States as the words of the president.”
The Ferndale Enterprise Ferndale, Calif. “The ‘fake news’ mantra is not unique to our current ‘commander in chief.’ In this small town, we’ve heard it for years — as has any other small town editor in remote locations around our great nation. For the most part, we’ve been amused by the desperation of those who echo it.”
The Denver Post Denver, Colo. “We are simply standing up for what we believe in as journalists.”
The Chronicle Willimantic, Conn.
The Hartford Courant Hartford, Conn. “We’re at high school football games, at zoning hearings and the latest show so that we can help you decide if it’s worth going. And when the unthinkable happens and 6-year-olds are gunned down at school, we wrestle with our own shock and grief while telling a stunned state the story. Doesn’t sound like the nefarious work of enemies of the American people. Sounds like people who care about the community where they own homes, pay taxes, send their kids to school. Who believe, simply, that truth can help us all lead better lives.”
The Center for Public Integrity Washington, D.C. “Fair, rigorous criticism of the press is welcome and expected, but attacks labeling it as the ‘enemy of the people’ or ‘dangerous & sick’ are neither appropriate nor responsible.”
The Seaford Star and The Laurel Star Seaford, Del.
The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News Falls Village, Conn. and Millerton, N.Y. “Americans may not like the news they see or hear but they should not hold that against those who report it. In short, don’t shoot the messenger.”
Folio Weekly Jacksonville, Fla.
Sun Sentinel Deerfield Beach, Fla. “Our country’s leader shouldn’t be making it easier for dictators to harass and silence journalists in places where freedom of the press remains a dream.”
Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg, Fla. “In such a toxic environment, Trump’s declarations undermine not just journalists and news organizations but the communities and democracy we endeavor to serve.”
The Daytona Beach News-Journal Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Highlands News-Sun Sebring, Fla.
The Miami Herald Miami, Fla.
The News Herald Panama City, Fla.
The Boise Weekly Boise, Idaho “There is nobility, selflessness and even greatness in people from Boston to Boise (and beyond); but the current climate of divisiveness stoked by a rash but charismatic leader has eroded some trust in one another and, quite possibly, ourselves.”
The Chicago Sun-Times Chicago, Ill. “Chicago is a better city today, decades later, for that constant competition between these two quality news companies that, for all their differences, sure do give a damn about ‘the people.’”
The Chicago Tribune Chicago, Ill. “At some point such verbal assault encourages ideological extremists to take action. It threatens journalists’ personal safety. And it undercuts that responsibility for a press that’s supposedly free of government control to act as a watchdog on public officials.”
The Daily Herald Arlington Heights, Ill. “The press in America is no blend of disparate tastes and interests into one singular identifiable amalgamation. It is a vast, diversified collection of distinct voices serving specific interests and communities. This is the very nature of democracy.”
The Journal Star of Peoria Peoria, Ill.
The Register-Mail Galesburg, Ill.
The Rockford Register Star Rockford, Ill. “No one likes to get complaints, but yours show us that you care about what we do and what we don’t.”
The Trenton Sun Trenton, Ill.
South Bend Tribune South Bend, Ind.
The Commercial Review Portland, Ind.
The Connersville News-Examiner, The Courier-Times and The Shelbyville News Indiana “If you believe, as we do, that having accurate information is the key to making good decisions, then you should subscribe to newspapers. As our teachers used to say in current events classes, read newspapers. Get your news from many different sources. But among the most trustworthy are your local newspapers.”
The Francesville Tribune Francesville, Ind. “Even as a small, family owned newspaper we have a platform to express our issue with the phrase ‘enemy of the people.’ That’s just not the case, we’ve never been and never will be. We are here to report the facts.”
The Kokomo Tribune Kokomo, Ind.
The News and Tribune Jeffersonville, Ind. “The fallout from Trump’s media blitzkrieg is being felt in newsrooms across America — including this one. The negative comments have reached our ears. Some dismiss us out of hand, as if we were more annoyance than a partner in the community. We remain committed, though, to delivering the news of the day — without sanitation — and information that but for our efforts would elude public scrutiny.”
The Ames Tribune Ames, Iowa
The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa “The true enemies of the people — and democracy — are those who try to suffocate truth by vilifying and demonizing the messenger. The response to that cannot be silence.”
The DeWitt Observer DeWitt, Iowa
The Dyersville Commercial, The Manchester Press and The Cascade Pioneer Dyersville, Manchester and Cascade, Iowa
The Storm Lake Times Storm Lake, Iowa
The Hillsboro Free Press Hillsboro, Kan.
The Topeka Capital-Journal Topeka, Kan. “We’re not separate from the public. We are the public. We live and work and play in Topeka and surrounding areas. We go to restaurants and send our children to school. We drive the same roads, see the same doctors. We’re not the enemy of the people. We are the people.”
The Commonwealth Journal Somerset, Ky.
The Glasgow Daily Times Glasgow, Ky.
The Journal-Times Grayson, Ky.
The Morehead News Morehead, Ky.
The Richmond Register Richmond, Ky.
The Times-Tribune Corbin, Ky. “Our leaders — be they presidents of the nation or of the city council — do not get to choose to whom they are accountable. They are accountable to the citizenry. We intend to hold them to it. To do anything less is dereliction of our duty.”
The Slidell Independent Slidell, La.
The Bangor Daily News Bangor, Me. “Facts matter. But they don’t make themselves known. They don’t, actually, speak for themselves. They need people, such as journalists, or yourselves, to say them out loud.”
The Kennebec Journal Augusta, Me.
The Morning Sentinel Waterville, Me.
The Portland Press Herald Portland, Me.
The Hub City Post Washington County, Md.
The Star Democrat Easton, Md.
Essex Media Group Massachusetts
The Berkshire Eagle Pittsfield, Mass. “Mr. Trump's behavior has placed the American experiment in democracy in unprecedentedly perilous times, and a free press has become more central to our nation's survival than ever.”
The Boston Business Journal Boston, Mass.
The Boston Globe Boston, Mass. “‘The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom,’ wrote John Adams. For more than two centuries, this foundational American principle has protected journalists at home and served as a model for free nations abroad. Today it is under serious threat. And it sends an alarming signal to despots from Ankara to Moscow, Beijing to Baghdad, that journalists can be treated as a domestic enemy.”
The Cape Cod Chronicle Chatham, Mass.
The Cape Cod Times Hyannis, Mass. “The true enemy of any democracy is ignorance, and the only way to battle ignorance is through the acquisition of knowledge: a single set of well-researched, incontrovertible, unbiased facts.”
The Daily Free Press Boston, Mass. “Even when Trump’s term ends, the effect of his rhetoric is a stain that has bled through onto these hardworking people and will be difficult to scrub away.”
The Daily Hampshire Gazette Northampton, Mass. “While that climate is unsettling, it has not deterred us from our job explaining often complex issues that challenge us, so that you, our readers, stay engaged with your communities and make a difference with your actions.”
Athol Daily News Athol, Mass.
The Martha’s Vineyard Times Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
The Milton Times Milton, Mass.
The Nantucket Inquirer and The Mirror Nantucket, Mass. “Every Thursday morning, after the week’s paper is out on the newsstands, reporters and editors meet in the newsroom to plan coverage for the next issue. We strive to reflect a range of interests in the community. We look at the social fabric of our island and what is tearing at its edges. We take our mission very seriously. You should too.”
The Provincetown Banner Provincetown, Mass.
The Recorder Greenfield, Mass.
The Republican Springfield, Mass.
The Sun Chronicle North Attleboro, Mass. “This newspaper has felt the sting of the president’s disdain. A reporter covering a high school graduation was sitting with families in the grandstand and revealed her occupation. She was told, ‘Oh, we don’t like you.’ Like all responsible journalists, our reporter was there to gather facts and tell a story.”
The Swellesley Report Wellesley, Mass. “As you already know, nothing much happens in Wellesley. That's why you moved here and love it. That's why you read Swellesley, to have this knowledge confirmed and to bear witness to our daily documentation of, well, the dailiness of a quiet community.”
The Whitman-Hanson Express and The Plympton-Halifax Express Hanson, Mass. “We work together, however, in our unflinching support of the First Amendment and its guarantee of a free press as the best protection of our basic freedoms and status as a democratic republic. That’s why it is our First Amendment.”
YourArlington.com Arlington, Mass. “The First and the Second amendments are equally important in their contexts, but note which comes first -- protection of the press.”
The Daily Globe Ironwood, Mich.
The Deadline Detroit Detroit, Mich.
The St. Ignace News and The Mackinac Island Town Crier Saint Ignace and Mackinac Island, Mich. “In some respects, we’re lucky that we serve an aging population of readers who learned about the fundamentals of democracy and freedom remote from the distractions of the Internet. Many of our readers know better than to believe the bitter messages about the press from our president and the occasional other politician, bureaucrat, or partisan.”
Bluff Country Newspaper Group Spring Valley, Minn.
Swift County Monitor-News Benson, Minn. “We live in a time when people can’t tell real news from fake news on the internet. They are easily misled, fooled by Russians posting information that incites hatreds and inflames passions in efforts to affect our elections. We live in a ‘post-truth’ world where facts that challenge our beliefs are dismissed.”
The Duluth News Tribune Duluth, Minn. “Consider it a call to stop lumping together as ‘the media’ both legitimate news-gatherers and those whose practice of propaganda is meant to mislead and misinform for self-serving purposes.”
The Grant County Herald Elbow Lake, Minn.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune Minneapolis, Minn.
The Columbian-Progress Columbia, Miss. “Oliver Emmerich, a conservative Mississippian who founded the company that has owned this newspaper for decades, understood more than most the danger of championing a free and independent press. During the tumultuous summer of 1963, the KKK burned crosses at his home and newspaper office, the Enterprise-Journal in McComb. The paper’s response was a simple yet courageous and effective one: Publish stories about that domestic terrorism on its front page, the very thing the attackers meant to prevent from happening.”
The Greenwood Commonwealth Greenwood, Miss.
The Kansas City Star Kansas City, Mo. “That 44 percent of Republicans polled recently said Trump should have the autocrat’s power to shut down news outlets shows how successful his efforts have already been.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Mo. “Trump is inflicting massive, and perhaps irreparable, damage to democracy with these attacks.”
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle Bozeman, Mont. “In our work as journalists, our first loyalty is to you. Our work is guided by a set of principles that demand objectivity, independence, open-mindedness and the pursuit of the truth.”
The Falls City Journal Falls City, Neb. “We put in miles on snow covered roads and spend long hours on hot summer nights covered in bugs by the ball field to bring you a product we hope you like. We don’t do it because we like being away from our homes, we do it because it’s a labor of love and pride in our community and its members.”
The Omaha World-Herald Omaha, Neb. “History has demonstrated, time and again, the importance of journalism in shining a light on government and explaining key issues confronting communities and our nation.”
The Seward County Independent, The Milford Times and The Wilber Republican Seward, Milford and Wilber, Neb. “On bitter cold January nights, we’re the people’s eyes and ears at town, village and school board meetings. We tell the stories of our communities, from the fun of a county fair to the despair a family faces when a loved one is killed.”
Forum Home New Hampshire
Insider NJ New Jersey
The Atlantic City Weekly Pleasantville, N.J. “Our job as journalists, first and foremost, is to inform. And while we at Atlantic City Weekly are entertainment driven, that in no way means that we relish in or relay any gossip, rumors or innuendo.”
The Burlington County Times Burlington County, N.J.
The Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Ariz. “At a practical level, we journalists sit through boring government meetings and learn about public school financing formulas, so you don’t have to. It’s not as lofty a statement as the First Amendment, but it serves.”
The Sentinel of Gloucester County Malaga, N.J. “The job of a reporter is not about glamour and makeup like you often see on television. The majority of reporters and journalists work part-time and make under $30,000 a year. They usually receive no additional benefits. To lump all reporters and journalists in the same boat as ‘the enemy of the people’ is certainly not an accurate statement.”
The Trentonian Trenton, N.J.
The Farmington Daily Times Farmington, N.M.
The Guadalupe County Communicator Santa Rosa, N.M.
The Los Alamos Daily Post Los Alamos, N.M.
The Santa Fe New Mexican Santa Fe, N.M.
The Union County Leader Clayton, N.M.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin Belen, N.M. “We are not the enemy; We are the people”
El Diario, La Opinión, La Raza, La Prensa New York “Los latinoamericanos conocen bien en carne propia lo que significa la erosión del periodismo, la intimidación a los reporteros, la autocensura, la ambición desmedida de la casa presidencial. Se dice que en Estados Unidos ‘esas no ocurren,’ aunque es fácil identificar que el problema es serio cuando el Presidente declara que los medios de comunicación son el ‘enemigo del pueblo.’”
Examiner Media Putnam and Westchester Counties, N.Y. “Citizens from across the country, of all political stripes, must stand against the systematic attacks on journalism and journalists. Our democracy’s ability to breathe healthily depends on it.”
Johnson Newspaper Corp. Northern New York, N.Y. “The president wants his supporters to conclude that what they’re learning from media outlets isn’t real. Don’t trust your eyes and ears, he tells them: ‘Believe me!’ Well, someone who has Mr. Trump’s history of lying can’t be taken at his word on this.”
The Altamont Enterprise and Albany County Post Altamont, N.Y. “Our stories, coupled with editorials, have moved our readers and brought about change for the good: a girl sodomized by her father got her day in court, toxic wastes were removed from an old Army dump, skewed tax rolls were righted, a big-box plan was thwarted — all because our readers were empowered with knowledge.”
The Chronicle-Express Penn Yan, N.Y. “Our work is a labor of love because we love our country and believe we are playing a vital role in our democracy.”
The Garden City News Garden City, N.Y.
The Islip Bulletin, The Long Island Advance and Suffolk County News Long Island, N.Y.
The Journal News White Plains, N.Y. “We can only hope that officials across the Lower Hudson Valley, some of whom have prickly relations with the media, will not decide to take the easy way out by tarring journalists as enemies.”
The North Shore News Group Long Island, N.Y.
The Observer Northport, N.Y.
The Queens Courier and The Ridgewood Times Queens, N.Y. “Who will bring attention to the problems we experience every day if the press isn’t there to report it? Who will hold government accountable for inaction, corruption and poor decisions if the press isn’t there to shed light on them?”
The Rochester City Newspaper Rochester, N.Y.
The Sag Harbor Express Sag Harbor, N.Y. “In community journalism, the work we do is a labor of love because we are working in the place we live, the place we raise our children; but, more importantly, because we understand we play a vital role in our democracy.”
The Smithtown News Smithtown, N.Y.
The Committee to Protect Journalists New York “Press freedom is enshrined in the First Amendment and is the bedrock of American democracy. What is less understood is that adherence to these principles has a profound impact on press freedom and the rights of journalists all over the world. When American leaders stand up for a free press, they embolden courageous journalists who put their lives and liberty on the line to report the news. And when American leaders fall short, they embolden the autocrats who seek to repress those journalists.”
The Gaston Gazette Gastonia, N.C.
The Star News Wilmington, N.C. “Yes, members of the press occasionally get facts wrong. When they do, they are held accountable by their news organizations as well as others in the industry, and far more often than not, the error is acknowledged in the form of a timely correction. The same cannot be said about this president.”
Triad City Beat Greensboro, N.C.
Steele Ozone and Kidder County Press Steele, N.D.
The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck, N.D. “During the Dakota Access Pipeline protests the Tribune encountered harsh criticism from all sides. It wasn’t unusual for a story to be attacked by both sides as unfair, and reporters and photographers took a lot of verbal abuse.”
The Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks, N.D. “Newspapers are the first to admit they are not perfect, but on all levels we are serious about what we see as our core roles: documenting the daily and weekly history of our towns and serving as watchdogs to protect the public’s interest.”
The Griggs County Courier Cooperstown, N.D.
The Hazen Star Garrison, N.D. “Asking hard questions is not fake news. Challenging the basic assumptions of the political right and left is not fake news. Looking at the broader issues that lie beneath the day-to-day skirmishes of our national dialogue is not fake news.”
The Journal and The Tioga Tribune Crosby and Tioga, N.D. “Rather than entertaining the notion of silencing any opposition, citizens need now, more than ever, to challenge themselves to hear multiple views, not take the word of those attempting to quash critical thinking.”
The Leader-News Washburn, N.D. “Our bias is toward the betterment of the city. Our agenda is keeping the public informed and empowered. Our allegiance is to the people in the communities we serve. In everything this paper does, even when it doesn’t seem that way, we are by your side.”
The McClusky Gazette North Dakota
The Mountrail County Promoter Stanley, N.D. “North Dakota newspapers are not ‘fake news.’ We are documenting the stories and histories of our towns.”
The Ransom County Gazette and The Sargent County Teller Ransom and Sargent Counties, N.D.
The Standard Westhope, N.D.
The Steele County Press Finley, N.D.
Cincinnati CityBeat Cincinnati, Ohio
The Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio
The Athens News Athens, Ohio “And it does have a trickle-down effect. Increasingly when a local public figure responds to a damaging news report, rather than an old-fashioned explanation or denial, he or she will go immediately on the attack...”
The Chagrin Valley Times Chagrin Falls, Ohio “New businesses in town, car accidents, election results, high school sports all are examples of real news. When someone calls the news ‘fake’ simply because they don’t like what they read, they are trampling on your First Amendment rights.”
The Chronicle-Telegram Elyria, Ohio
The Columbus Dispatch Columbus, Ohio “Being open to legitimate criticism and being committed to publishing verifiable facts are keys to preserving trust in a free and fair press. We aren’t perfect, and when we make errors, we correct them.”
The Fayette Advocate Washington Court House, Ohio
The Wapakoneta Daily News Wapakoneta, Ohio
Yellow Springs News Yellow Springs, Ohio “At a time when we should be working with our communities to reform media, we find ourselves having to defend the very idea of a free press. Instead of using this space for the conversation about how to expand newsroom diversity when 17 percent of newsroom employees are minority journalists, we are trying to stave off a challenge to our existence.”
Tulsa World Tulsa, Okla.
Eugene Weekly Eugene, Ore.
Siuslaw News Florence, Ore.
The Cannon Beach Gazette Cannon Beach, Ore.
The Hillsboro Tribune and The News-Times Hillsboro and Forest Grove, Ore. “The news isn't 'fake' just because you see things differently.”
LNP LancasterOnline Lancaster, Pa.
The Beaver County Times and The Ellwood City Ledger Beaver and Lawrence County, Pa. “Journalists are the eyes, ears and voice of the people we serve. We sit at the school board meetings so you know who the next principal will be. We attend the town council meetings so you know which company is building in your backyard.”
The Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer Bucks County, Pa.
The Daily Item Sunbury, Pa. “When a crane collapses and blocks a major road like Route 15, as happened Tuesday night, we are there to tell you what happened, why it happend and how long it will be before it is fixed.”
The Delaware County Daily Times Swarthmore, Pa. “Opinions are not ‘fake news.’ The editorials and opeds we write and publish are just that – opinion. We sometimes endorse candidates based on the information we have and who we think will best serve our community. You may agree with us, or you may not. That’s OK. Our job is to provide you with the facts so you can form your own opinion and make your own informed decisions.”
The Elizabethtown Advocate Elizabethtown, Pa. “If these threats of violence escalate to a point where journalists are afraid to do their job of holding government accountable, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will be as meaningless as Article 125 of the Soviet Constitution of 1936.”
The Erie Times News Erie, Pa.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pa. “As the birthplace of our democracy, Philadelphia was also one of the birthplaces of a free press, and the Inquirer, born not long after the country’s own birth, proudly continues that legacy.”
The Times-Tribune Scranton, Pa.
Newport This Week Newport, R.I.
The Providence Journal Providence, R.I. “Without this window into the workings of government, our democratic republic would cease to work, leaving elected leaders without a needed check on their power.”
The Anderson Observer Anderson County, S.C.
The Freeman Courier Freeman, S.D. “A community conversation, whether it’s about events happening in our community or it’s about a position voiced in an editorial, column or letter, is at the heart of how we live and work together. Rhetoric diminishing that process — regardless of where is comes from — should concern every one of us, whether in Freeman, or Sioux Falls, or St. Louis or New York.”
The Jamestown Sun Jamestown, S.D.
The Rapid City Journal Rapid City, S.D.
The Yankton County Observer Yankton, S.D.
The Oakridger Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Austin American-Statesman Austin, Tex. “It’s the job of Statesman reporters to bring you articles that may make you uncomfortable.”
The Dallas Morning News Dallas, Tex. “We see this as dangerous for the simple reason that by diminishing the press, those who hold high office gain a greater ability to govern without the steadying force of public scrutiny. That’s a recipe not for empowering this president, but rather for ensuring that our leaders in Washington fall out of touch with the people and decide that they know better than the people they seek to govern.”
The Denton Record-Chronicle Denton, Tex. “But you also know we are fulfilling our responsibility when we ask the tough, probing questions of the candidate you supported, when we seek the records documenting the operation of the agency in which you serve, when we continue to call those elected leaders who never pick up the phone.”
The Hays Free Press and The News-Dispatch Kyle and Dripping Springs, Tex. “Government spokespersons from all entities try to give their side of the story; that’s what they are paid to do. But that is only one side of the story, and giving them free rein without questioning is not good for our country – or our freedom.”
The Houston Chronicle Houston, Tex.
The Longview News-Journal Longview, Tex.
The San Antonio Express San Antonio, Tex.
The Morgan County News Morgan, Utah
The Bennington Banner, The Brattleboro Reformer, The Manchester Journal Vermont “How essential is a free press to Vermont? So essential that when Vermont's founding fathers convened upstairs at Elijah West's Windsor Tavern in July of 1777 to agree to a Constitution for the brand-new Vermont Republic, they specifically protected it by name.”
The Commons Brattleboro, Vt. “The biggest injustice of Trump’s smear of the press presumes that a Trump supporter cannot and will not think critically and fairly about their news. The president’s supporters deserve to be held to a higher standard.”
The Deerfield Valley News Wilmington, Vt.
The Hardwick Gazette Hardwick, Vt.
InsideNoVa.com Virginia
The Culpeper Times Culpeper, Va.
The Progress-Index Petersburg, Va.
The Rappahannock News Washington, Va.
Real Change News Seattle, Wash. “There has never been a more critical time to engage in free speech. With our words, our time, our money, and our bodies in the streets.”
The Northern Light Blaine, Wash.
Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Port Townsend, Wash. “Our free press supports the rights of people expressing every imaginable political viewpoint. It’s not fake. It is very real and it’s time our President recognized and supported this very basic and central concept of our democracy.”
Kenosha News Kenosha, Wis. “Presenting news that you disagree with is not "fake news." We work hard to inform, serving as watchdogs of government and institutions, while also celebrating the good in the community. This has been going on for decades.”
Lake Geneva Regional News Lake Geneva, Wis.
The Courier Sentinel Cornell, Wis.
The Crawford County Independent Gays Mills, Wis.
The Dodgeville Chronicle Dodgeville, Wis.
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram Eau Claire, Wis. “A great benefit of the internet and social media is that a wealth of information is only a mouse click or swipe away. But that also has meant a proliferation of news sources, not all of which are legitimate. Shouting the loudest does not make one accurate.”
The Plymouth Review Plymouth, Wis. “Not long ago we received a letter, which said everything in our newspaper was ‘biased’. The letter writer didn’t say what bothered them so to respond was like trying to respond to an archer who fires an arrow from cover.”
The Ripon Commonwealth Press Ripon, Wis. “Power corrupts even the best leaders. That’s why James Madison realized government needed independent voices to check its worst instincts.”
The Tomahawk Leader Tomahawk, Wis.
The Wisconsin Gazette Shorewood, Wis.
The Jefferson Chronicle Jefferson, N.J.
More on NYTimes.com
Advertisement
Site Information Navigation
© 2018 The New York Times Company
Home
Search
Accessibility concerns? Email us at accessibility@nytimes.com. We would love to hear from you.
Contact Us
Work With Us
Duppers
(28,123 posts)Some surprises and some disappointments who did not publish.
Hekate
(90,704 posts)And if my 'puter worked better I'd check more in my state.
Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)Can you?
appal_jack
(3,813 posts)Doing right in the northwest corner of NC:
http://ashecountyline.com/editorial-our-response-to-the-boston-globes-call-for-an-end-to-dirty-war-p662-172.htm
-app
sheshe2
(83,773 posts)Excellent. 
We held a Tea Party now a Press Party.
Revolution!
Hey Donnie? Meet The Press. 
I feel a tweet storm coming.
Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)Is that your line? "Hey Donnie? Meet the Press" ?
I'm swiping,
sheshe2
(83,773 posts)Feel free to spread it liberally!
RainCaster
(10,878 posts)Staph
(6,251 posts)Handy catchphrases, the type he has regularly deployed on his way to vanquishing his political opponents and to try to shape the national conversation without any substantive discussion of the many challenges faced by this nation.
Don't be fooled by his use of such simplistic descriptions. He is mistaken on both counts.
The news media's role is to inform the public - of the good, the bad and the ugly, of the ideas that can help keep America great, of public opinion about the issues of the day. Of special importance is the press's duty to let the citizenry know of government actions at all levels so that the public can gauge whether public officials are serving the best interests of citizens.
Read the rest at http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinion/editorial-attacks-on-media-undercut-vital-role-of-the-press/article_883db358-021a-51c3-8065-03024fa333bc.html
Staph
(6,251 posts)Justice accuses the news media, some more than others, of not being “positive” enough, while he calls a story “negative” if it accurately reports inconvenient facts — and he attacks journalists personally in news conferences.
In this, unfortunately, Justice has a role model who occupies the highest office in the country: Donald Trump.
President Trump yells “fake news” each time a report fails to flatter him — and denounces the news media as “the enemy of the people.” For example, he told the Veterans of Foreign Wars last month: “Stick with us. Don’t believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news.”
Read the rest at https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/editorial/gazette-editorial-fake-news-usually-true/article_a2595172-0ee0-5242-ac3c-1ee4f67c7391.html
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)Grasswire2
(13,570 posts)Something he can brag about. The most newspapers in coordinated opposition to his attacks.
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)Hekate
(90,704 posts)As I will. 
steve2470
(37,457 posts)This is a big deal because even though Orange and Osceola counties are blue, Seminole and other counties surrounding Orlando are red. Florida went for Trump, barely.
Fritz Walter
(4,291 posts)Sic'm!
RainCaster
(10,878 posts)RainCaster
(10,878 posts)RainCaster
(10,878 posts)
Cha
(297,253 posts)Mahalo, Hekate!
lamp_shade
(14,834 posts)Hekate
(90,704 posts)
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)
d_r
(6,907 posts)Some news outlets want the press to unite today and write editorials decrying our president's whine that the media is your enemy.
Other news outlets warn that such editorials — read here, opinions on the opinion pages of your newspaper (which differ from the news pages of your newspaper) — would be playing right into this president's mind-manipulating hands, expecting him to say, "See, the fake news is out to get me."
That's the state of our country today? Really? You don't have the intelligence to watch our president and read your newspaper and watch TV and listen to the radio and form your own opinion? Really?
Well, we have that confidence in you. This writer is a fifth-generation Tennessean, raised in the Southern Baptist Church by a man who worked both a farm and a Chattanooga factory job. She remembers a day back at her parents' dinner table after she was a married working mom when her father, a proud Republican, was railing about how the media was ruining our country.
She put down her fork, took a deep breath, looked at him and said: "Dad, has it occurred to you that I am the media?"
Homer Wells
(1,576 posts)SkyDancer
(561 posts)A helluva article.... it is long so you know, this is a snippet
During a Lafayette City Council meeting on Aug. 7, Mayor Christine Berg tore into a recent article in the Daily Camera and Colorado Hometown Weekly about vendors who told a reporter that attendance had slipped at the Lafayette farmers' market. Berg railed against the story as being "slanted," charging that it was meant to "bash" the market.
"I find it unfortunate that facts don't matter sometimes," Berg said.
And then her colleague, Councilwoman Alexandra Lynch, joining the attack, uttered the poisonous words that have become a battle cry for a growing movement, launched by the country's own president, to discredit, bully and silence members of the free press: "Fake news."
The media has always had its detractors, but the current strain of attacks against journalists, the one that cuts at the foundational freedom they're granted by the First Amendment to report the news, was spawned by then-President-Elect Trump, in tweets like this one from December 2016: "Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are rediculous & untrue - FAKE NEWS!" (the typo is Trump's). Not a month after Trump's inauguration, the president called CNN, The New York Times, NBC News and "many more" media outlets " the enemy of the American people." As the year progressed, Walmart earned national attention for selling T-shirts that read, "Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some Assembly Required." The notion that the press is a subversive, treacherous force has continued to gain currency, and the message has coarsened. Earlier this month, Trump tweeted that the "Fake News ... purposely cause great division & distrust ... They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!"
While just 22 months ago it would have been unthinkable for a president to use such language, now it has infected the treatment even of local media and tarnished journalists covering routine community events. The permeating reach of Trump's anti-press campaign is evident in overt expressions of hostility, such as on the Lafayette City Council. But more often it's expressed in subtle and more pernicious ways. Local journalists say sources more frequently refuse to speak to them or ask to interact only through email, which erodes the quality of reporting they're able to do.
http://www.dailycamera.com/editorials/ci_32073125/editorial-enemy-free-press-boulder-trump-journalists
royable
(1,264 posts)[link:https://tucson.com/opinion/local/star-opinion-the-free-press-is-not-the-enemy-of/article_2606f264-76cd-59b0-95f8-c618c0c02053.html|
When Trump weaponizes and perverts the very concept of truth and a free press by trafficking in bold lies with a smile on his face, he does so with a purpose:
To hold the American people hostage to his whim, to his control, to his reality. Don’t believe what the press tells you, he repeats.
“Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening,” Trump told a VFW gathering in Kansas City in June.
If this were a personal relationship, alarm bells would be going off.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)The paper was late this morning, so I haven't read the editorial.
Hekate
(90,704 posts)femmedem
(8,203 posts)"...Such an approach sows the seeds of tyranny. The king is above reproach. Only reporting receiving the royal seal of approval is suitable. All else is fake and condemnable. While the constitutional protections constructed by the Founders and our strong institutions are in place to prevent these seeds from taking root, it was unpresidential for Trump to have ever planted them and not in keeping with his oath to “preserve … the Constitution of the United States.”
As we previously noted, this does not mean the press is beyond presidential criticism and condemnation. Presidents have always pushed back against reporting they considered distorted or slanted, or that simply got it wrong. An adversarial relationship between the chief executive and the press is what the authors of the Bill of Rights anticipated when they prohibited the passage of any law “abridging the freedom … of the press.”
But that normal and healthy give and take is far different from Trump’s broad dismissal of reporting he doesn’t like as “fake, fake, disgusting news.”
Most alarming is Trump’s characterization of the news media as the “enemy of the people.” This characterization is highly offensive and invites violence against reporters trying to do their jobs informing the American people..."
https://www.theday.com/editorials/20180815/uniting-our-voices-in-defense-of-free-press
Hekate
(90,704 posts) 