Beat the press

Nobody likes criticism, especially elected officials. But when people offer themselves to serve the public, they must understand some that will like their actions; others won’t. Criticism comes with the territory.

It is the role of the fourth estate, the profession of journalism, to report the actions of public officials and hold them accountable.

When CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite returned from Vietnam in 1968 and told us that not only were we not on the “verge of victory,” as our leaders maintained, but we were in fact in a “bloody stalemate” and not winning that war, his reporting swayed public opinion and our stance on the war.

In 2006, the media exposed the attempt to influence the election of an NC House Speaker with infamous exchange of cash in a Salisbury IHOP bathroom.

Former Senator Jesse Helms became incensed with Dan Rather and CBS news, claiming the network had a “liberal bias” reporting the news. Helms sent out a million letters to conservatives urging them to buy CBS stock, takeover the network and become Rather’s boss. The effort failed.

It has become commonplace today to use the media as a whipping boy, sometimes even seeking retribution. President Trump barred The Associated Press from the White House press room because he didn’t like their coverage. And he has sued both ABC and CBS over coverage he didn’t like.

I have witnessed retribution first-hand.  I well remember the phone call I received from the editor of a weekly newspaper that regularly printed my columns. The publisher sheepishly apologized but said she could no longer publish my columns. One of her paper’s biggest supporters was a business in an industry I had criticized. They threatened to remove their support to the paper if she ever printed another one of my pieces. Without their support, she said, they would go broke.

A recent example is more egregious and unacceptable. Andy Pettigrew, Publisher and Editor of the Pender-Topsail Post & Voice, a locally owned weekly newspaper with a circulation of about 5,000, told me the story.

The five member Pender County Board of Commissioners is now dominated by three conservative commissioners. In clearly identified editorials, the Post & Voice singled out actions the commission had taken that the paper felt were unwise.  The three members didn’t like the criticism and determined to get even.

State law requires that when any government entity desires or is required to publish legal public notices they must do so in the local newspaper of record. The paper is allowed to charge for the advertising. The Post & Voice is the only paper of record in Pender County.

 In a clear retribution scheme the three commissioners led a vote to stop putting public notices in the Post & Voice, instead publishing them in the neighboring Wilmington Star-News. This costs taxpayers in Pender considerably more money and is likely Pender residents would not be informed of important information. But in small weekly newspapers, like the Post & Voice, revenues from public notices help keep the paper financially viable. The Commission’s decision hit the paper in the pocketbook.

When the paper exposed what commissioners had done they tried shenanigans to legitimatize their actions, including getting a county employee to state the county could publish legal notices in any paper they wanted. It’s not true.

This is a clear abuse of power, a violation of fiduciary trust. It demands, at a minimum, a reprimand. The North Carolina Press Association has gotten involved and legal action might be forthcoming.

As a member of the media in North Carolina for more than 60 years let me acknowledge that the fourth estate is not perfect and there have been instances when media members have displayed partisan bias, made mistakes, and in some instances knowingly abused their own position of trust.

But an overwhelming majority of the journalists in newspapers, radio and television operate with the motive and ethics to honestly inform the public without malice or prejudice. And when they do violate codes of conduct or use their influence for less than honorable purposes they need to be called out and held accountable.

In this era of rapidly changing media sources reputable journalism is essential.

We should be alarmed over the demise of newspapers, local radio and even local TV in news reporting. The numbers of journalists in legitimate news positions are shrinking all over this state and the public is the loser for it. Without journalists how would we know what the city council, county commission, school board, hospital board or any public agency was doing? How would we know what was going on in our communities? How could we make informed decisions or vote?

Beating up the press serves no purpose other than allowing those with agendas the ability to do as they wish. We need to stand up for and support the legitimate news media.

Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965.  Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com