Why write editorials? It’s our constitutional responsibility
As President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters love to point out, our Founding Fathers were geniuses. That’s why presidents are chosen by the Electoral College, not the popular vote.
But those founding geniuses did more than just lay out a blueprint for democracy. They also carved into metaphorical stone the freedoms they cherished most. One, in the First Amendment, protects freedom of the “press.” Why? Because they considered newspapers a pillar of a free society and an essential tool for protecting democracy.
As Thomas Jefferson put it, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.”
So it’s troubling that so many of our detractors – in letters to the editor, calls, complaints, cancellations, personal notes – misunderstand the role of the press and of our Opinions pages.
Our editorials are not supposed to be “fair and balanced” (a term popularized by a network that is neither). Instead, we strive to provide all sides of a debate by offering opposing viewpoints. For every Leonard Pitts Jr., we offer Victor Davis Hanson. For every Paul Krugman, there’s Jay Ambrose. For every cartoon by Lisa Benson or Glenn McCoy, you’ll find cartoons by Jack Ohman or Joel Pett. While the newspaper might endorse Hillary Clinton, we feature writers arguing for Donald Trump or Gary Johnson.
In James Madison’s time, when he first protected newspapers, this wasn’t the case. Newspapers then were stridently one-sided, far more political and especially confrontational. With no television or internet, newspapers were the only form of mass communication, and every political faction had its own newspaper. When Modesto had only 2,500 residents, it had two newspapers. New York City had 12 as recently as 1920.
By the 1930s, objectivity in reporting had become an industry standard and remains one of every newspaper’s highest obligations. That’s why there is a distinct separation between the news and Opinion pages.
Today, careful readers seek out websites – like newspapers – that strive to provide objective fact. But during political times, many people prefer to exist in an echo chamber, where their preconceived notions aren’t challenged.
So when we publish – either in print or on modbee.com – content that challenges various points of view, we get slammed. People especially get angry over irreverent editorial cartoons, opinions they disagree with and our recommendations on candidates.
Lately, we’ve gotten a lot of criticism for adding editor’s notes to letters to the editor to correct mistakes or clarify content. In the past, it wasn’t as necessary since other letter writers would often set the record straight. Now all of our letters are posted at modbee.com as quickly as possible, and many of those writers who once corrected mistakes via follow-up letters do it through the comment function. That means our print-only readers won’t see it. So, we feel obligated to correct inaccurate information up front.
Editorials are our attempt to help readers put the news in context. We don’t expect readers to agree with all that we write; not even every member of the editorial board agrees with every editorial. But providing perspective on the news is why newspapers are protected under the Bill of Rights. It’s an obligation we take seriously – even when criticizing politicians costs us readers. It’s what a free press does.
But don’t take our word for it.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable,” wrote President Teddy Roosevelt.
“The government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.
“May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion,” wrote President Dwight Eisenhower.
“You’re not supposed to be sycophants,” Barack Obama told reporters last week. “You’re supposed to be skeptics.”
The last word goes to Jefferson, perhaps the greatest defender of a free press and free people: “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Why write editorials? It’s our constitutional responsibility."