Filtered news? Bad news!

 "No government ought to be without censors: and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence" — Thomas Jefferson. 

The Jimmy Kimmel saga has suddenly drawn strong focus on the threat of news censorship. This is not new, and it’s not just at the national level. 

As a young, small-market radio news reporter, I was awakened to the problem decades ago. 

When appointed News Director of WJBL in Holland in 1957 I was immediately warned by the Chamber of Commerce that no news from that office could be released before noon, thus assuring that the local newspaper would not be scooped. A similar warning came from Hope College.  (It didn’t work!) 

That reminds me of a troubling national story. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants credentialed journalists covering the Pentagon to sign a “pledge” to not report on — that is, keep from the American public — information the administration hasn’t specifically authorized for release. Even if it’s unclassified! 

Back to Ottawa County.

When I became General Manager and News Director of WGHN in Grand Haven in 1964, I was threatened by local managers of both utilities---electric and gas--- warning that I should not report any causes of local fires that involved electrical issues or leaking gas. If I did both would cancel their advertising contracts. (I continued to tell the truth, and they continued to advertise!) 

A group of local downtown merchants met with me during a lengthy and nasty industrial strike suggesting that I darn well better tone down my strike coverage…it was giving the community a bad name. (Our listeners remained completely informed! The advertisers stayed with us.) 

The Jimmy Kimmel story is a stark reminder that this threat, especially at the national level, is real and much worse. 

We saw it coming when CBS cancelled Stephen Colbert’s TV show, which had been highly critical of the current administration. 

Then ABC suspended another late-night program that poked fun of the president. Thankfully Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air. But, that story isn’t over. It’s apparent that the current administration is hell-bent to allow only favorable news coverage to the U.S. public. 

President Trump admitted as much. He told reporters on Air Force One the other day: "I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily [in last year's election]. They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they're getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away." 

What a difference when compared to the statement of an earlier president, Lynden B. Johnson in the 1960s when a comedy duo, the Smothers Brothers, apologized for satirizing him on their show. President Johnson’s response: "It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives." 

In these difficult times, Americans on both the right and the left must remember that it’s not just the Second Amendment that needs strong support. The First Amendment is in trouble! 

It desperately needs your support.

 Now! 

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."  Thomas Jefferson