Southwest Ledger Editorial Board
In April, it was a county commissioner and a sheriff threatening the lives of two Oklahoma journalists. Most recently, it was a police raid of a small newspaper in Kansas.
In January 2021, journalists covering the U.S. Capitol riot were assaulted and their equipment destroyed. Before that, there was the “Rope, Tree, Journalist” T-shirt – the shirt that called for killing journalists. Then there is the never-ending claims of fake news and the media being called the “enemy of the state.”
People don’t like us; we get that.
But whether we’re liked or not, democracy does not work without a free press.
The 45 words enshrined as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution spell it out directly:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Among protections for beliefs and speech and the freedom to tell your congressman he or she is full of it, there is some serious, hardball protection for the press.
In fact, that line that prohibits the government from abridging the freedom of the press is the only place in the U.S. Constitution where the government carves out a protection for a private entity – one charged with holding those in power accountable.
For more than 230 years, journalists have held those in power accountable. Journalists have traveled to the remote corners of the world to cover stories, they have braved violence, hatred and stood arm-in-arm with soldiers under fire.
We take our jobs seriously.
Each week at this newspaper a group of talented, resourceful journalists travel across the state, talk to dozens of people, review, analyze, report and write information. We hold ourselves to high standards, seeking the best obtainable version of the truth.
At times that truth isn’t pretty. But it still must be reported.
The same journalists some people want to assault, threaten and vilify are also parts of the communities they cover. Those journalists live in the same towns they report on, they go to the same churches, send their kids to the same schools and buy their groceries from the same stores as those they cover.
Those journalists, too, are part of the fabric of their city, their state and this nation.
Here in Oklahoma the vast majority of journalists are resourceful, hardworking, talented and well-educated. They work long hours and few, if any, are truly paid what they are worth.
Still, they suit up every day.
It’s no secret that media in this country, and across the globe, faces new challenges. Print newspapers and traditional broadcast media outlets are in a life-or-death struggle for survival. Technology, changing attitudes, and a shift in culture have sparked many of these same challenges.
Some of our wounds, however, are self-inflicted.
While we journalists are the first to say we are proud to hold those in power accountable, we must be accountable ourselves. Every journalist should practice the same level of transparency to which they hold others.
Publishers, editors, station managers and owners must acknowledge the questions and concerns presented by their readers and viewers. Each person involved in media must make sure the public – those who watch, listen and read – understand how stories are vetted, analyzed, reported and published.
When we are wrong, we must acknowledge our errors and move quickly to correct them. We must always remember that the art of journalism is a very human undertaking. Our goal should not be to harm but to inform and entertain.
That old saying about the pen being mightier than the sword remains true – words do have power and, yes, words can kill. But those same words can also inspire, inform, build and educate.
Instead of calling for the end of the media, threatening to kill journalists or raiding newspaper offices, the public should help ensure their media outlets remain strong and vital. At the same time, those of us in the industry must ensure we operate openly, that we’re transparent and that we understand the public’s concerns.
Newsroom raids and death threats from elected officials don’t help democracy – they undermine it. They devalue a vital part of the fabric of our country.
It’s time things changed.