41 years ago last month one of the largest natural disasters in my lifetime happened, and it also my first big news story. I was running my small town newspaper on the Washington coast, and for weeks there had been news reports that Mount Saint Helens could erupt at any time. It finally did on […]
Television has taught us that journalists and the police are always at odds with each other, sworn enemies who will never come to any kind of middle ground. The reporters are pushy and don’t care about anything but getting the story, and if they can throw a cop under the bus to get it, even […]
Back in my small town newspaper days many editors and publishers, myself included, had a sign or plaque in their office that said some variation of, “The duty of the press is to print the truth and raise hell.” I have heard that phrase attributed to everyone from Mark Twain to a number of well […]