CALL FOR ACTION TO PROTECT THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
By Cindy Merckx/Sentinel of Gloucester County Editor (published week of 8/16/2018)
This week I am taking part in a national call for action to protect a free press. Over 100 publications across the United States have decided to publish an editorial this week (8/16) on the importance of a free and independent press.
Many of the media outlets across America are small independent news sources such as ‘The Sentinel of Gloucester County’ that are not controlled by billionaires, but are owned by average citizens. Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. A free and independent press is one of the most sacred principles of our Constitution because it prevents the government from controlling all of the news stories, press releases and opinions of the public.
At a recent Trump 2020 rally in Pennsylvania last week, the President of the United States called the reporters present at this event the ‘Enemy of the People.’ He continues to taunt the members of the press by pointing at them and making comments that their news agencies are nothing but ‘fake news.’ He uses dehumanizing words such as ‘dangerous and sick’ to refer to ‘all’ journalists.
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. My personal belief is there is a real danger that can occur when an administration verbally assaults all the press. Using words,such as ‘the enemy of the people’ can encourage others to commit an attack on an individual or group to create a riot, without necessarily acting on their words themselves
I have been a reporter almost twenty years and just like all American’s have seen the lack of respect for one another in this country continue to grow like a festering boil. We were raised to respect one another, however we all witness how people are disrespected every day. Children are not taught to respect their teachers,parents, police officers, senior citizens, etc.As I was growing up, we were taught that you should not curse or talk badly about one another; however I often witness bad behavior in both children, adults and public officials
I can understand why the President gets upset with the press at times. Not every reporter is going to get a favorable comment or opinion from someone; a reporter that is simply looking to report on both sides of the story, will be in hot water with the politician when he writes or reports the negative comment that someone made about the President. You have to have thick skin to be in both the political arena as well as a writer,because there will be those who will criticize and oppose your actions and decisions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone would like us and approve of all of our ideas? But we learn from our early school days that this will not happen because we all think and act differently from one another. In a democratic society, the governing body must be held accountable to the people, and the only way that can happen is to allow the people to be informed. Freedom of the Press is not just about protecting journalists and reporters, bloggers, and so on; it is also about guarding their right to access information and to confront abusers of power.