Editorial: The citizen’s role in preserving a free press

Since our nation’s founding, Americans have always recognized that a free press is important to maintaining a free society. As I am often fond of saying, “There will never be a free nation without a free press.”

The press must keep watch over those in power, report on the public’s needs and impressions, and shed light on critical events. For our part, Historic City News is continuing this legacy by bringing citizens fact-based accountability news and empowering them to challenge prevailing narratives.

It’s one of the age-old questions of news: should journalists be the gatekeepers or referees of information? In many ways, they still act as both — but the fences are coming down as information becomes decentralized thanks to the Internet.

Readers are no longer left with a handful of newspapers or major networks to go to for news. Many establishment players complain that this world is chaotic, but I believe there is a promising future for the news industry.

Here’s why. With so many facts, perspectives, and news sources available online, the choice is increasingly left to the reader to act as the referee. You can embrace the narrative that the legacy newspapers feed us, or you can expand it by challenging the notion that the national media always know best.

At Historic City News we believe in empowering citizens to play an active role in shaping the news. Because it isn’t just government that needs accountability — sometimes it’s the news journalists themselves.