An editorial is the one place on the pages of a newspaper where the job is different.
It is not about reporting the facts. It is about interpreting them. It is not about exposing the failings of government. It is about calling for solutions.
That is what makes a Mississippi court’s decision to order an editorial removed so wrong.
The Clarksdale Press Register has been criticizing Clarksdale, Miss., city government for years. That’s what newspapers do on behalf of the people of their communities. Criticism isn’t attack. It’s analysis and questioning. It’s looking at what the elected officials are doing and approving when appropriate and being skeptical when warranted.
On Feb. 8, the Press Register’s editorial took city council to task for holding a meeting regarding a tax proposal for things like alcohol, tobacco and marijuana without telling the media.
We would have done the same thing. We have done the same thing. We have done it to school boards, local municipalities, Westmoreland County commissioners and Pittsburgh City Council. In Pennsylvania, it would be a violation of state Sunshine Law, and we would trumpet our opposition.
But Clarksdale officials took their case to court, claiming defamation. And Judge Crystal Wise Martin agreed, issuing an order to take down the editorial, saying the incident showed “actual malice.”
No, your honor, it does not.
Defending the right of the media to represent the people loud and long and in print for the ages is not malicious. It is a fulfillment of the obligation placed upon us by the First Amendment.
Most of the freedoms detailed in the Bill of Rights address the individual. They say how you, yourself, may speak and worship and defend yourself.
But the freedom of the press is a two-way street that not only gives permission to reporters to ask questions and spread information, but it also implies a responsibility to exercise that right on behalf of the public.
For a judge to take a stand against that is a betrayal of that constitutional protection.
This happened in Mississippi and the Chancery Court of Hinds County has no authority in the Keystone State. But what can happen in one state can happen anywhere. It is important for all news organizations to continue their First Amendment-protected work of representing the people and demanding accountability.