Boulevard

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the Press

Aug 04, 1735. Freedom of the press was established with an acquittal of John Peter Zenger. The writer of the New York Weekly Journal had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. That jury said, "The truth is not libelous."

Wouldn’t it be appropriate if this date were declared a national holiday? This principle offers us protection from tyrants, would-be dictators (“deciders”), and elite cabals who steal our financial security as well as our dignity, privacy, and right to know what’s going on in our nation.

However, it seems that the corporate media has conveniently forgotten freedom of the press whenever the set-a-new-standard for secrecy Bush administration cows them. As my late friend, Boogie, used to say of his former paramours, “selective memory.” Like Boogie, the media barons who once upon a time enforced this principle are now dead. "Long live the talking points and the party line," says the new corporate media. Some television stations have gone so far as to run the administration's video press releases as news. How's that for lazy, and cowed, reporting?

We’re now informed by a national press corps of scribes, note-takers, talking-pointers, and public relations flacks. The free press, as we once knew it, has abandoned its post and gone to work for the other side. Afraid of losing “access,” the press has now lost a lot of its credibility. But, they've got their 401-k's.

Perhaps, instead, this date should become a national day of mourning for the former free press. The truth is now not only libelous, but also treasonous, or "unpatriotic" in the newspeak. It’s classified by our government and ignored by a lapdog press who say they're protecting us. But, aren't they really protecting themselves? From what? Us? Don't we have the right to know the truth?

posted by J. Boulevard @ 5:12 AM