Don’t Harm Both the Great Work and the Solid Journalists Soldiering On
That some Americans say that they are cancelling the Washington Post, LA Times, Detroit News and presumably other newspaper subscriptions is deeply disturbing because as journalists we should be more open than any other segment of society to differences of opinion.
The editorial page(s) belong to the publisher. They are his or hers to use and abuse. More than a few times when I was with the LA Times my front page exposes drew editorials disparaging or dismissing my reporting. The publisher’s entitled — just so long as he or she keeps their hands off the news report. Criticism and disagreement are central to journalism. So is diversity of perspective and giving voice to a broad range of viewpoints.
I join those who are angry, disappointed, furious, outraged and upset by Bezos and Soon-Shiong not endorsing in the 2024 presidential race. This is a democracy-threatening dereliction of duty. But we don’t ignore principles in disagreements. Well, not unless you are, like Donald, utterly unprincipled. It makes no sense to deny yourself the serious news reports of the Washington Post and LA Times because of a decision on the editorial page(s).
That’s no reason to cancel subscriptions and harm both the great work and the solid journalists soldiering on at these three and other newspapers. And in canceling your subscriptions you hurt yourself and our democracy. Shame on those of you who cancelled, action I hope you quickly reverse. Criticize the feckless publishers. Shame them. Picket. Hell, yell at them if you encounter them on the street. But canceling subscriptions won’t get their attention because they are already subsidizing money-losing newspapers.
My Critique:
- If you did this out of fear off Trumpian retribution, this won’t save you. Donald is not one to make fine distinctions in his hatred and lust for vengeance. The time to curry favor by bowing to his majestic view of his own perfect omnipotence was years ago, not now. Donald says he will punish those who dared to criticize him. You should believe him but react with courage not cowardice even if you believe, as I do, that down the road of a Trumpian dictatorship lie firing squads with me and other journalists likely to be lawlessly executed.
- If you did this because you want more tax cuts for you and your fellow billionaires you have revealed yourselves to be selfish, shallow, immoral and in the long run incredibly stupid because more for those with more than enough while tens of millions live in economic fear will breed more political resentment and ultimately revolution against oligarchs [See France, 1789].
- The decent and proper next step is to explain your reasoning. Write your own editorial and sign it. And then authorize your editorial board to both critique your work and express their expert opinions about the best qualified candidate. This would show that you believe in robust debate and actually care about making our democracy endure.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE IN SUPPORT OF DCREPORT’S NONPROFIT NEWSROOM
