Free from ignorance - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin
There is a certain professional obligation I, as the editor of this fine newspaper, have when one of the community’s prominent local council members elucidates that “freedom of the press is dangerous” in a public, recorded meeting.
Personally, I have pulled no punches as to my thoughts on the behaviour of North Huron Councillor Chris Palmer in past years. He has, to my mind, demonstrated bigoted views in council chambers and alienated communities that have been marginalized in service of sects away from which ever more people are gravitating. In other words, he’s been forcing his ideals onto the populace, allowing them to drive his decision-making, rather than doing what he was elected to do, which is to serve his residents, regardless of their personal beliefs.
But, for today, I will shelve those opinions and deal with the matter at hand. Literally saying that freedom of the press is dangerous is something that an evil, cartoon caricature of Palmer would say, either aboard a diabolical yacht or while deviously stroking a cat.
Freedom of the press is the First Amendment to the Constitution in the United States (even higher than guns, which is the second, and we all know how they feel about their guns) and protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada (a certain group of folks was really hot for that document a few years ago, you may recall). The modern-day adage for the press is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. This institution is a means by which people can be helped out from under the crippling boot of autocracy. It is the means through which victims find justice and criminals pay for their crimes. It is the mirror that is held up to a community. (For the Blyth 150th history book, for example, the list of resources starts and ends with The Citizen.)
It is the media that has brought justice to victims of sexual assault and rape in the face of massive resources and influence from political and religious institutions, brought to light political overreach and crimes by those in power at the expense of the common man and been there for those with nowhere left to turn.
Furthermore, traditional outlets like The Citizen are held to a high standard of truth and fairness, both by its member associations as well as the law. We have a responsibility to report the truth that those on social media do not. “Citizen journalists” in the social media “town square” do not have that responsibility. We are regularly, often painfully, reminded of the import of getting it right and not allowing for the unfettered spread of unfound rumours.
Dangerous? I think not.
Yet, Palmer is telling his fellow councillors and constituents that the press is a useless entity all because factual reports don’t seem to jive with how he feels. In this day and age of a fractured media landscape, full of fake news on the far right wing, Palmer doesn’t need news with which he disagrees, nor does he endeavour to learn from it; he’ll just find other news that confirms how he feels - true or not.
The freedom of the press is a tenet on which all great civilizations are built. Furthermore, it is the canary in the coal mine of free speech. If journalists are restricted by a country’s rulers in what they can write, you can bet that rights and freedoms of citizens will follow closely.
The work of The Citizen and other area news outlets has been crucial to the history of Huron County and its residents long before Palmer even graced the area with his presence and they will outlive him as well. Their level of importance speaks for itself and no one, misguided councillor will change that.