Free press stands between us and an authoritarian future, writes rural editor - Entrepreneur Generations

Steven Doyle

The editor of a small-town newspaper makes an impassioned case for the importance of a free press in a recent editorial. The nation's basic principles "start with the freedom of the press, the right to hold people accountable for their bald-face lies, their little untruths, their obfuscations, their obstructions and their sleights-of-hand, Steven Doyle writes for the Martinsville Bulletin in Henry County, Virginia.

Journalists are often criticized though, and Doyle admits that that smarts, though he knows reporters aren't perfect. "Journalists are phlebotomists of truth, tapping around with our questions until we find a hidden, plump vein. We are humans and make mistakes. Not every 'tap' is with perfect touch and sensitivity," he writes. "But those of us who work for conscientious and non-ideological news organizations tap with unrelenting purpose – all the while facing that fusillade of snide disrespect and ridicule."

Doyle asks readers to beware of biased parties' attempts to slander the news media with cries of "fake news", and asserts—using a vivid image from Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale—that the absence of a free press is the fastest route to an authoritarian future.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2xjo4si Free press stands between us and an authoritarian future, writes rural editor - Entrepreneur Generations

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