Messengers, not Swordsmen

By Lonny Cain
NINA Past President

Dammit, the public has a right to know!

Bull crap.

Now-now-now, don't get defensive! Ah, but I'm too late. Your feathers are ruffled and your ready to fight. Which is exactly why the all-mighty "PUBLIC," those demographics that we claim to serve, well, they really don't like us. They don't see the same divine mission.

You've seen the proof in the annual "State of the First Amendment" surveys put out by the Freedom Forum. In fact, the most recent results were reported this month in cooperation with American Journalism Review, and the numbers continue to be frustrating.

The Forum reports that for the first time the annual survey shows
almost half (49 percent) of those surveyed said the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees - a 10-percentage-point jump from 2001.

"The stakes have risen for the First Amendment in the wake of Sept. 11," said Ken Paulson, executive director of the First Amendment Center. "The results of our 2002 survey suggest that many Americans view these fundamental freedoms as possible obstacles in the war on terrorism."

In 2001, 39 percent of those surveyed said the First Amendment went too far in the rights it guarantees.

"That's not to suggest a monolithic response to these core First
Amendment values. In truth, Americans are of multiple minds about the 45 words drafted by James Madison," Paulson said. "While a majority says they respect the First Amendment, a significant percentage seems inclined to rewrite it."

Other findings:

• About half of those surveyed said the American press has been too aggressive in asking government officials for information about the war on terrorism.
• More than four in 10 said they would limit the academic freedom of professors and bar criticism of government military policy.
• About half of those surveyed said government should be able to
  monitor religious groups in the interest of national security, even if
  that means infringing upon religious freedom.
• The least popular First Amendment right once again was freedom of the press. Forty-two percent of respondents said the press in America has too much freedom to do what it wants, roughly the same level as last year.

The public apparently thinks we are arrogant and pushy. But then
what do they know? Oops. Did that sound a bit arrogant? How should I respond? I certainly could never agree to any watered down version of the First Amendment.

The public DOES have a right to know! Damn, I said it again.
You know what? That survey probably just shows how upset people are at those TV journalists. We know how pushy and arrogant they can be.

Ah, that sounds a bit arrogant, too. Could it be that each of us
in the chosen profession are on trial? We are judged every day because we intrude on lives everyday. We upset readers with photos of accident scenes or elected officials yawning at meetings or cartoons that attack sacred cows, even all those typos missed on proof. We are, after all, the messenger, and we often bear bad tidings.

Perhaps the problem is not the First Amendment, but the people who carry it around in a holster and pull it out to shoot anyone who suggests we don't have a right to ask questions, look under rocks, knock on doors. They don't see what the First Amendment stands for, they just see us waving it around like Excalibur.

The Freedom Forum suggests that each of us examine how much we really know about the First Amendment. Not just how many freedoms are covered. (Five, right?) But the history of the amendment itself.

Take a look at your children's history books. See how much is
actually taught about the First Amendment. How easy was it to write and approve the U.S. Constitution? Then ask if your newspaper should be doing something to help educate the public on this history. For more advice, go to www.freedomforum.org.

And examine yourself. What are you doing to explain how and why you report what you report? And can we explain what we do without the mantra: The public has a right to know.

Maybe there are some things the public doesn't want to know. Maybe there are questions they don't want us to ask. Who really decides? Who really determines what the public needs to know or wants to know? Who chooses the news for your newspaper?

You do. We -- the professionals -- all do. Now, how do you explain that without sounding just a tad arrogant?

The First Amendment has never been safe. Learn more about its
history and then reread those important words again. Your heart will swell. The First Amendment is a gift to be preserved through education and coddled in daily use. It is not as a weapon but a fragile container holding what we believe in, carried by each of every day.

I hope that sounds like someone who is proud. Not arrogant.

Lonny Cain is managing editor of The Daily Times in Ottawa and past president of NINA. As part of a recent trip to the American Press Institute he was treated to some important lessons on the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum. Some are shared here.

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