Thomas Jefferson once wrote that if he had to pick between "a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
This excerpt from a guest column in an Arkansas newspaper says it better than I can:
"Democracy is best served when the newspaper provides checks and balances as the Fourth Estate of government. Newspapers are not the enemy of government -- rather they are the champions of ordinary men and women.
Newspapers are the most powerful advocate the public can have and for that reason should always provide an open forum for a redress of grievances and public expression.
Newspapers hold government accountable because at our very core we believe that government belongs to the governed and not to the governing.
If newspapers do not stand up for the public, protect the rights of free speech and the rights of access to government, then no one will." -- Jim Zachary Guest column The Sentinel-Record October 10, 2019
May I add that newspapers can be recycled, and are printed on recycled paper. A hard copy of a newspaper can be preserved, but an electronic news story can be wiped out with the push of a computer key.
Every time a newspaper dies, a community loses a watchdog, a key source of information, and a treasure trove of history from its archives.
The chain of weekly newspapers that served my area was shut down by Jeff Bezos when he purchased the Washington Post some years ago. Since the Post itself barely covers local news, it's now nearly impossible to find out what is going on locally. Online news sites like the Patch barely scrape the surface of the news.
Imaginary example: Why is this development being built in an environmentally critical area? Which members of the city council voted in favor of it? Is there reason to believe they are too cozy with the developers? Do we need an investigation into this?
In my 25 years as a newspaper journalist, I wrote many articles on similar subjects. I helped expose the poor design of a large NJ landfill that literally cracked open, spilling nasty chemicals into wetlands and stinking up the surrounding area. The landfill likely cracked open due to poor grading and overfilling. It was so nasty that, when I was invited on a press tour of a "nicer" part of it, the fumes emerging from the ground dissolved the feet of my pantyhose. I was wearing sandals, and was terrified that this might affect my own health, let alone the effect on people who lived nearby, and the fish and wildlife in the wetland.
I wrote story after story about chemical spills and leaks, and decomposing barrels of toxic waste found buried on farmland or dumped in the ponds and swamp of central New Jersey. I used to keep a toxic substances manual on my desk so I could look up a given chemical and find out whether it was a carcinogen, or a fire or explosion hazard.
I wrote stories about the NJ Turnpike toll collectors who were passing out from air pollution at a particular exit.
I'd like to think the numerous stories I wrote helped spur action on cleaning up the toxic mess in NJ, since the state seems cleaner now.
I hate to think what NJ would be like if the press ignored this critical issue. Or if there were no press to expose it and alert citizens to the dangers.
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