| Show fe 1 r x The T re free press keeps information ava ova lable able Mark Hewitt Columnist T T THE HE media is an indispensable asset to toa 1 a democracy by the very nature of our political system Since democracy is ideally a government controlled by its citizenship the success of that institution is only a reflection of its constituents In IIi order to have a successful productive democracy or even a republic as we have we must have informed involved citizens at at the most basic level of our political tem This is where the media contributes to the democratic process The independence independence independence inde inde- accessibility and credibility of the pr press s help heIR it fill its role in providing dear and constant information Of courset course t the e press press wo would d be useless were it not not for forthe forthe forthe the latter two qualities A newspaper that no one can get is as much a failure a as a newspaper that no one can believe in Asan As As' Asan Asan an old joke in the Soviet oviet Union goes anyone who is stupid pid enough nough to pay five rubles for Pravda is probably also stupid enough to believe it Perhaps the most important of these three aspects however is th the independence independence independence inde inde- of the press The Soviet joke had its origin in a large part through the state run nature of Pravda As a government government government govern govern- ment organ Soviet citizens knew it would only represent views Views' supported by the Kremlin As Joseph Pulitzer said That aint no way to run a paper n 3 For one thing a new newspaper paper w which presents news which is is' slanted or tailors its information to fit a particular opinion fails falls its readership by withholding withhold Withhold- ing certa certain n f which do not support the writers writer's dogma For another thing it limits the credibility of the newspaper In order for a a. newspaper to fulfill its obligation obligation obliga obliga- tion lion to its readership it must mUt seek the highest possible degree of independence This is not always an easy ta task k One of the most immediate examples of the problems associated with Jun running an independent independent in in- n- n dependent newspaper is funding Where will the newspaper get the money tomake to make publishing possible The answer for formost formost formost most papers is of course advertising Many news people see advertising as a direct conflict of interest For example s say y a company buys S of advertising from a small newspaper Then assume this 1 company becomes involved in illegal political activity ac ac ac- Can the newspaper afford 1 to report the company's activities even though it may may mean a major loss of advertising dollars dollars dollars dol dol- dol- dol lars which may in turn limit or even end the newspapers newspaper's ability to publish It was just this type of f conflict that convinced many early eady newspaper publishers publishers publishers pub pub- lishers not to sell advertising Of course this d drastically reduces a newspapers newspaper's publish on a large scale limiting the accessibility of a paper The Horizon receives its funding from the Student Student Student Stu Stu- Stu- Stu dent Association ie i.e. you It is in part fo for of this reason that any journalist will admit objectivity is a pleasant classroom myth that misses practical application Walter Lippmann Lippman a Twentieth Century Century Century Cen Cen- tury Pulitzer Prize winn winner and a stud student nt of Harvard's George Santayana emphasized emphasized emphasized em em- the necessity for intellectual op op- op- op position He insisted that societies es must tolerate freedom of press and speech not because such tolerance is is' dictated by a natural right but because in order for states to survive they must accept criticism m as a constructive tive means to o evaluate their own i ideologies Through constant criticism usually via t the e press such opposition serves to cultivate only the most well-reasoned well conclusions Th This s ultimately is the goal of the press to provide a venue for the intellect intellectual t exchanges necessary necessary in a democracy This is also why I 1 am encouraged by people like you who read the newspaper That goal is also one of the reasons I consider con conr sider myself fortunate to have access to a relatively free newspaper and that I can participate in its ambitious objective So can you believe bellev it or not You will be hearing more from me e this year and I hopefully lly will be hearing from you Through our efforts we will certainly make a difference |
