Truthdig: An Obituary for the Free Press

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An Obituary for the Free Press


Posted on Sep 19, 2007
George F. Regas


Anthony Day’s Life of Integrity


Memorial Service, All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA


Sept. 15, 2007


George F. Regas


Rector Emeritus

I was Tony’s pastor here at All Saints church for a number of years. On Easter eve, April 15, 1995, I baptized Tony. It was my last baptism before I retired two weeks later.

From the depth of my spirit, I want to give thanks to God for Tony’s life—for those 74 years he walked across this earth and blessed it in ways that will last forever.


I.

First, I want to say a few words about the world of media.

Although newspapers are struggling economically, newspapers are still the dominant media of our day.

This force, the media, is a force that cuts deep to the foundation of democracy.

The forum, the free market of ideas, the public discussion and debate were considered central to the operation of our democracy in America’s earliest decades. “We The People,” made it clear where the ultimate authority lay.

Today, the free marketplace of ideas is under sustained attack. It is permeated with slogans concocted by big corporations, ideological interest groups and their lobbyists and their think-tank subsidiaries. Bill Moyers writes, “They have even managed to turn the escalation of a failed war into a ‘surge,’ as if it were a current of electricity through a wire, instead of blood spurting from the ruptured vein of a soldier.’”

On the issue of the Iraq War, the media failed us. The watchdog group, FAIR, found during the three weeks leading up to the American invasion of Iraq—only 3% of U.S. sources on the evening news of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX and PBS—only 3% expressed skeptical opinions of the impending war. Is there any wonder why two years after the tragedy of 9/11 almost 70% of the public still thought it was likely that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the terrorists’ attacks that day?

There are some great, courageous reporters today, but it is utterly astounding how so many reporters have said that it never occurred to them that high officials of government would manipulate intelligence to go to war. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070919_remembering_tony_day/