Press needs to remain uncompromised

The hair on my neck stood up when I heard Speaker of our House, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tell a member of the media that their job was to support her political agenda.

Recalling the civics lessons that I had as a youth, I learned it is not the job or role of the press, in our society, to advocate a political position, but to provide factual information and to challenge those in power to defend their positions. Since I’ve not been in school for some time, I wondered if things have changed.

I found the following passage on the ACLU website: “The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. It is also a vibrant marketplace of ideas, a vehicle for ordinary citizens to express themselves and gain exposure to a wide range of information and opinions.”

I am pleased to find that the job of a free press has not changed.

Many societies and governments have been designed to have the press and the government work hand-in-hand. To my knowledge, in the majority, if not all the cases, individual freedom and liberty have been reduced and eliminated and the regime has gone on to do incredibly evil things. The extremes are easy to point out – Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and Communist China.

We must be on guard against the anti-American, anti-freedom beliefs that Pelosi is advocating. While a compromised press may make Pelosi’s life easier, it will not make your life any easier, better or more fulfilling.

Wayne Gebhard

Spokane