Freedom Of the Press On the Ropes
Americans are losing their access to truth far more quickly than they know
When I founded The Riverfront Times in 1977, CBS’ Walter Cronkite was the most trusted man in America.
Not the most trusted in the media. In America.
No one called Cronkite’s words “fake news” back then. And if a president decided one day to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico — and kick out the Associated Press for not playing along — the likes of Cronkite wouldn’t have stood for it, not for a second.
Every news organization and every White House correspondent would have walked out with the AP. And no media owner would have blinked at the threat of being sued for it.
But at the risk of coming off like an old-timer railing “back in my day,” I’ve got some truths to share based on what I’ve seen over half a century in journalism - and what we’re all watching collapse right now.
The First Amendment isn’t being killed by Donald Trump alone. It’s dying because the corporate news media — and individual journalists — aren’t rising to the moment.
The assault on freedom of the press isn’t a story to be covered. It’s an attack on democracy to be turned back.
And even if you’re not a member of the news media, you have an important role to play as a consumer — with the power of a customer — to stand up with your voice to save the First Amendment.
Because we’re about to lose it.
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