America’s democracy in the hands of the free press

Shea Rowell
Class of 2019
Managing Editor, Emmitsburg News-Journal

(8/16/2018) One sure way to provoke an argument in the United States today, in either liberal or conservative company, is to utter these two inflammatory words: fake news. The American people have been traumatized, victimized, by the suspicion that has come to permeate our culture. Fake news, as controversial as it is, does exist, and is largely created by automated computer programs, and disseminated through social media sites. The president, however, has used this social media scandal to demonize the free press itself – the words of real Americans (not robots) who attempt each day to give the people a news source they can trust.

Therefore, Americans are not only suspicious of social media, but of real journalists, working for our nation’s oldest newspapers and broadcast sources. According to President Trump, these sources fulfill a personal vendetta against the public and (conveniently) against himself, spreading lies and fabricating the news, instead of reporting it. This has undermined Americans’ trust in the press, especially in more conservative circles, and instead invited them to put their trust in the government and its executive. It has even provoked a small percentage of liberals, and a larger minority of conservatives – who, historically have been defenders of the free enterprise system and limited government interference – to believe that the president should have the power to dismantle news sources that display "bad behavior" (Boston Globe).

This distrust is an attempt, whether intentional or not, to undermine the independence of the American democracy. America’s greatest asset as a governing body is its constant efforts to protect the people’s sovereignty over the government. The people have no power if they have no access to knowledge from independent sources. Government censorship of the free press means disenfranchisement of the American people.

In preparation for an ethics class assignment, I spent some time studying journalistic codes of ethics – yes, they exist, and are fairly universal. In an article about the ethics of professional journalism, Stephanie Craft summarized the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics as the following: "seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently," and, "be transparent and accountable" (272). Journalists, by their very essence, must be independent of the government to seek and report the truth. Under government surveillance, they spread, not truth, but propaganda.

If fake news is to be defeated, the solution must come from journalists themselves, not from the government. In his World Communication Day statement, entitled, "‘The Truth Will Set You Free’: Fake News and Journalism for Peace," Pope Francis states that it is the responsibility of journalists, "the protectors of news," to "discern the truth… that encourages communion and promotes goodness from whatever instead tends to isolate, divide, and oppose." He clarifies that this does not mean journalists should avoid reporting conflicts and unpleasant realities when they arise, but that when they do so, they do it in a way that "is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines." He advocates "A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those – and they are the majority in our world – who have no voice."

Journalists accept this as their mission. Their aim is to provide news that the people need to know, and refuse to be the senseless yes-men of whoever happens to be in charge. They hold themselves and those in government accountable for transparency and truth. Because of this, they are not America’s enemy, but her greatest and most loyal ally.

Read other articles by Shea Rowell