[This article first appeared in The Vernal Express in 2010.]
By Gary Parker
Express Journalist
Last Friday afternoon I received a telephone call from a worried person who had committed a crime and, wishing to avoid public embarrassment, called to request that the incident not be reported in the Express. This incident capped a difficult week of investigative journalism during which I and my my fellow reporters were berated, questioned and accused of misdeeds by some few members of our community who would prefer that certain elements of certain stories remain unexposed.
As reporters, we sincerely love our jobs. We know and shoulder our duties comfortably and with enthusiasm. I wonder, however, if there may be some misunderstanding among some as to why we do what we do.
It is of no little significance that freedom of the press was one of the first rights our founding fathers secured for us by constitutional amendment. They knew well that oppression of all kinds and magnitude often, in fact usually, involves the suppression of dissenting views.
They also knew that dissenting views form a vital bulwark against oppression and are fundamentally important to the overall health of a liberty-guaranteeing democracy.
News happens every day. People commit crimes, people attempt to cover them up, people form committees and groups, start businesses or go bankrupt, argue over procedure and law, and put plans into action that directly, or indirectly, affect your life as a member of our community. As such, It is the journalist's job, even sacred duty, to you and to society as a whole, to uncover and shine a light on the truth at the heart of each of these stories. Your freedom and ours relies on us doing our jobs well.
Because of the weight of this responsibility, we cannot simply take a person's word as truth; not yours or mine or a public official's. We cannot simply regurgitate a press release without doing investigative due diligence first. We cannot print our opinions as news, no matter how strongly we believe them. Rather, we must get to the truth.
This means that we speak with witnesses, or witness events ourselves when possible. We visit crime scenes or accident sites. We measure, count, photograph, collect, listen, question, and figuratively, and sometimes literally, dig for the truth. And through all of our efforts we strive to maintain balance and fairness, applying journalistic rules equally to all. In doing so, we sometimes face hostility.
When, through hard work and attention to detail, we bring some particular news story or other to light, there are always naysayers; those who claim we are just gossiping or that we did not do our research well, that we are journalistic hacks simply stirring the community pot as a game to amuse ourselves. We often find ourselves dealing with those who would seek to hinder us in our work, and those who desire preferential treatment, who feel they are above the law and the media.
Though we would appreciate more positive comments, we have come to accept the negative ones, as well as the interference, as a badge of honor, or a signpost; an indicator that we are doing our jobs correctly and serving our community well.
If we were to give heed to the naysayers we would fail miserably in our duties. If we give one preferential treatment, we must give all preferential treatment. If reporters are cowed by those in our community with something to hide, or by those with a vested interest in keeping certain news out of print, then the press loses its practical value, becoming nothing more than an adornment on society.
It then becomes merely a hometown cheerleader rather than a safeguard of liberty and an illuminator of truth.
Those offended by some certain news article or other would do well to remember: that particular door swings both ways. When we seek to stifle one story, we seek to stifle all stories. We, in spirit, burn the books of society and turn our collective backs on truth.
I believe that the vast majority of the good people of our community weary of the cheerleader and want for real news. If that means the unseemly warts and pimples of our hometown are made visible, so be it. That is the price we must pay.
The great patriot Patrick Henry famously said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Are we willing to sell our liberty for any less?