Today marks the end of The Augusta Press’s 20th month in publication. We have a year and two-thirds under our belt, and it seems as if it might be time to write again about the purpose of newspapers generally and this newspaper in particular.
Historically, the purpose of American newspapers has been to serve as a watchdog on government. That’s why the press has long been referred to as the fourth estate. While the Constitution provides for checks and balances, but their purpose is to keep any one branch of the U.S. government from becoming too powerful.
The press also plays a sort of check-and-balance role, but it’s a bit different from that of the branches delineated in the Constitution. The role of the press is to keep the people informed about how each of the three branches is using its. Our role, the way we protect the public’s right to know, requires us to shout from the roof top when a politician, party or government office or agency misuses the power citizens have granted to him/her/them/it.
MORE: Sylvia Cooper: Counting down the days …
It’s common for journalists to be accused of scandal mongering, but when that happens, citizens need to consider who’s making that accusation and why they are doing so. Las Vegas City Administrator Robert Telles went farther than just criticism last week when he killed Jeff German of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Telles was believed he’d lost an election because of a story German had done months ago that identified problems in the city administrator’s office, so he stabbed the reporter to death. The story didn’t even make the front page.
Telles’ response was not the norm. Most of the time when someone is angry about a story, they call, write letters to the editor and otherwise denounce the offending medium as nothing more than hack journalism. Nine times out of 10 they’re mad, as Telles was, because the press has revealed truthful information that makes the complainant look bad. The complainant usually looks bad because he/she has been behaving badly, i.e., misusing power.
But that’s what journalists do. The best of the best, like Jeff German, pound the streets, develop sources, gather information and tell the public what it needs to know to keep the American republic sound. How can citizens have informed opinions and make good decisions about public issues in the absence of reliable information?
After all, government in this country is OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people. Government does not exist to enrich individual politicians or ensure they get elected to public offices they want to hold. It does not exist to provide “jobs for the boys.” Any power that a politician has is because we the people have lent it to him/her. Lent. Not given.
MORE: Hubert van Tuyll: Does it Matter?
Journalism has changed a lot in the past four decades. Most of it isn’t much more than opinionated fluff these days. Pablum. A cursory look at the day’s events provided by those who lack the passion that drove many of us oldsters to see careers in journalism. Nothing citizens who want to uphold their civic responsibilities can latch onto to guide them to make good decisions about public matters.
That’s why, when The Augusta Press started up 20 months ago, we pledged to bring our readers good, old-fashioned journalism based on depth reporting, careful assessment of information and clear writing.
We also pledged 20 months ago that we would always have the public’s back, that we would do our best to let citizens know what was happening in local government (and other stories, too). We pledged report fully and accurately and to be the voice of the voiceless, to afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted.
While we’ve stumbled here and there, that mission has guided our operations, and it will continue to do so.
Like everyone else, we were horrified that a journalist would be murdered for telling the truth – even more horrified that he would be murdered by a government official. Fortunately, our local politicians seem to be more stable than Telles. Mostly, we’ve just gotten complaints – and an occasional round of name calling.
Those complaints and name-calling tell us we’re doing our job and we’re doing it well. They’re badges of honor, really. And they remind us to keep doing our work, old-fashioned as we are.
