Every once in awhile, it’s nice to get some validation that you’re not standing alone against a tidal wave of opposition. So, we took some consolation in a study released by the Pew Research Center which said 73% of Americans said press freedom is “extremely” or “very” important to our society’s well-being.
But, as you might imagine, it wasn’t all roses and sunshine.
As on many issues, Americans’ views on press freedoms are nuanced, and there are variations that fall, predictably, along political party lines. As an example, more than half said they support government restrictions on reporting in instances, such as protecting national security or preventing inaccurate information.
If you’d like to find out how well you know the First Amendment, here’s a link to an 8-question Pew quiz: https://www. https://www
pewresearch.org/journalism/ quiz/how-much-do-you-knowabout- the-first-amendment/.
“Most U.S. adults said the government should not be able to require a news organization to take down a story if it is critical of the government or clearly favors one political side,” according to reporting on the study by The Associated Press. That’s encouraging. But about half say it should be able to force a retraction if a story contains false information, and about 6 in 10 said this about a story that poses a risk to national security.
Now we know of no journalist worth their salt who isn’t willing to correct or pull back information that’s proven to be incorrect. Anyone who won’t do that doesn’t deserve the label of “journalist,” a brand that’s become increasingly muddied especially by those with an agenda and a platform those who seek not to inform but to sway The issue there becomes what exactly is “false information” in a time where officials will label something “fake news,” not because it’s not true, but because they simply don’t like it. And while many agree that restrictions based on national security should be allowed, how easy would it be for officials to label everything they didn’t want reported as a security risk to prevent it seeing the light of day?
“When asked whether it was more important for the press to be free to report news even if some reporting is inaccurate, or if preventing inaccurate reporting should be prioritized even if it limits press freedom, about half, 53%, of U.S. adults said it was more important to prevent inaccurate reporting, and 45% said press freedom was more important,” according to the AP report.
All the more reason for journalists to be cautious. Most of us have long ago adopted the standard that it’s more important to be right than to be first.
This newspaper, and many other outlets, do our best to adhere to the Code of Ethics, espoused by the Society of Professional Journalists. The media (in whatever form it takes) and the public at large would be better served if everyone who style themselves as a jour-