Once upon a time, a long time ago, I taught a college journalism class.
OK, that sounds way too pretentious. The truth is, I was a guest lecturer in a college journalism class. I gave a presentation on owning and operating a small town newspaper.
I have done that same presentation to high school journalism classes as well, back when high schools had journalism classes.
I would include some facts about our First Amendment rights of Freedom of the Press.
I would do that by asking them if it was legal for them to start their own newspaper. And would they have to go to city hall and apply for a permit to do that. Maybe they would need to get a state license, similar to a driver’s license or marriage license. Or are newspaper licenses granted through the federal government, I would ask them.
My point was that they did not need a license. Anyone could start a newspaper. Then I asked about the laws that govern what one could print in a newspaper. The answer, of course, is that there are none, because of the First Amendment.
So, I told them, they could go start a newspaper. And they could print whatever they wanted to in that newspaper.
What really caught their attention is when I told them I had done just that – started a newspaper. It was in a small town in Texas that did not have a newspaper, but was large enough to support one. So, my business partner and I started one up, many years ago.
I sold out my interest in it after a few years, as I became quite busy with our other newspapers. Eventually the paper was sold to some local folks.
My point was, and still is, that newspapers are not regulated by the government. We are pretty much self-regulated. We learn journalism ethics in college, and set our own rules about what we cover and write about, and what we don’t.
For instance, at the Faribault County Register we want to cover the news of Faribault County. And we want to try and be fair about it, at least, as much as we can. When we are perceived not to be fair, we hear about it. But in actuality, there are no laws which state that newspapers, or other media, have to run their business in any certain way.
In fact, there are some state laws, especially here in Minnesota, which guarantee newspapers and other media have access to public meetings, most public data and just about all information that is labeled public. That helps us cover the news.
Of course, if we did not cover the local news, people would not want to buy the paper, and advertisers would not run ads.
Lately, newspapers and other media have been under attack. When someone does not like what they write about, they threaten to sue them and put them out of business. So, therefore the First Amendment of the right of Freedom of the Press is under attack.
For those of us in the newspaper business, that is hard to swallow.
Back to that class where I told the students they could go out and start their own newspaper. These days, I am not sure that would happen. More than likely they would go out and start their own podcast, or YouTube channel, or become a social media influencer, or whatever. They are doing that under our Freedom of Speech rights, which also are in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Some of those folks on social media are not very social. Some are so into their beliefs they do not want to hear anyone else’s thoughts on the issues.
As far as newspapers go, most of them try to be fair, and invite letters to the editor of differing opinions. Do we have to do that? Nope. There are no laws that say we have to run letters to the editor at all. Or write the stories we choose to do.
We could just fill the Register every week with stories about kumquats, what they are, how to grow them and kumquat recipes. We could even change the name of the paper to the Kumquat Express.
But we have no plans for that. I am just making it up in order to make a point. Truth is, I am not sure what a kumquat even is. But a quick Google search tells me it is a tiny, oval citrus fruit about the size of a grape or an olive that you eat whole, including the rind, which is sweet, floral and fragrant.
Who knew?
For the time being we here at the Register will just continue to cover the news of Faribault County as best we can, because that is what our self-imposed purpose is.
Again, thanks for reading us. Without you, our efforts would not mean much.
And please, don’t bother sending me your favorite kumquat recipe.
This article is republished by permission of the Faribault County (Minn.) Register. See original article.
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