Last month I wrote about the importance of voting, emphasizing that democracy is not a spectator sport. This month, my focus shifts to another essential part of a healthy democracy: a free press.
We often think of freedom of the press as something guaranteed by the First Amendment – and it is. But a free press doesn’t sustain itself. It depends on journalists willing to do difficult work, news organizations willing to stand up for their independence, and citizens who recognize the value of reliable information and are willing to support it.
The events of last week brought that home. When major news outlets were banned from the White House and other news organizations stood together in support of them, they sent a powerful message. News organizations that normally compete with one another recognized that something more fundamental was at stake. By standing together to defend press freedom, they prevailed.
Then, this weekend, my husband and I attended a gala fundraiser for the Plymouth Independent, a nonprofit, free-to-read online news organization serving the Plymouth, Massachusetts community.
We hesitated to buy tickets when we first heard about the event. We already support a number of cultural and arts organizations in our town, and there are always more worthy causes than dollars to go around.
But this was different.
The theme of the evening was “Celebrating 250 Years of the First Amendment.” Given everything happening around us, the timing felt especially significant. Along with about 300 other people, we opened our wallets for the silent auction, live auction and overall call for donations.
Why did it feel different?
Because independent local journalism is not simply another community institution. It is part of the infrastructure of democracy.
The Plymouth Independent provides thoroughly researched, fact-based journalism about local government and politics, business, education, the environment, culture and other issues important to the community. It is free to readers and editorially independent, supported through individual contributions, foundation grants, sponsorships and other funding rather than traditional newspaper advertising.
That matters.
Local journalism helps residents understand what is happening in their own community. It gives citizens information they need to participate in local government and civic life. It asks questions, provides accountability and creates a place for public conversation.
And it needs our support.
The program host for the evening was Shirley Leung, an award-winning columnist for The Boston Globe who covers the intersection of business, politics and diversity. Walter Robinson was one of the featured speakers. He is best known for leading the Boston Globe Spotlight Team’s investigation of clergy sexual abuse and served as a White House and foreign correspondent during his years at the Globe.
Robinson interviewed Martin Baron, another longtime advocate for the First Amendment and the public’s right to know, whose career included leadership roles at the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe and Washington Post.
Their conversation reinforced something that can be easy to forget: freedom of the press is not just about journalists. It is about the public’s right to know.
Sitting in that room with hundreds of people willing to financially support independent journalism made me think about what each of us can do.
First, support the local institutions that strengthen the communities we live in. There are many worthy organizations competing for our attention and our charitable dollars. Independent local journalism deserves to be among them.
Second, seek out independent sources of reliable news. Finding them isn’t difficult. There are many organizations doing serious journalism, both nationally and locally. We need to support them with our attention as well as our dollars.
And third, recognize that fixing a broken media industry takes work and commitment. In that way, it reminds me of our healthcare system. We can complain about what is broken, but meaningful change requires investment, accountability and people willing to participate in the solution.
And speaking of things that wouldn’t stop us…
The gala was originally scheduled to take place in a large outdoor tent overlooking Plymouth Harbor. Then came the Nor’easter.
Just a few days before the event, organizers moved it indoors to an unused space at the Kingston Collection – one of the hundreds of indoor malls around the country that are largely empty and looking for new uses.
If you’ve ever walked through one of those cavernous mall entrances, imagine it transformed into a party space in just a few days.
They weren’t going to be deterred. And it paid off. The fundraiser was a huge success.
That feels like a fitting metaphor.
A storm couldn’t stop people from coming together to celebrate and support the First Amendment. Nor should the challenges facing journalism discourage us from supporting the people and institutions doing the work.
A free press is not something we can simply assume will always be there.
We have to read it. We have to support it. We have to defend it. And we have to recognize that an informed public is essential to a functioning democracy.
Freedom of the press isn’t free. And neither is democracy.
“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press,
and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
—Thomas Jefferson