To reader Joanne Kuelbs, the First Amendment is precious. Even so, the Tierrasanta woman expressed concerns about last Wednesday’s front-page coverage of anti-American rallies in Pakistan. Kuelbs was referring to photographs and stories by Union-Tribune photographer Nelvin Cepeda and Copley News Service reporter Marcus Stern who are the eyes and ears for local readers of events in the Asian country.
Kuelbs and a few others said they found the space given to anti-American demonstrations disturbing. “Can’t you downplay it?” she asked. The coverage “is just exactly what they want.”
Another reader said the newspaper needs to be more “pro-American.” Is being pro-American suppressing the news in the name of patriotism? Would that be acceptable to most Americans?
Kuelbs and the other readers aren’t the only ones critical of news stories in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack. There has not been an outpouring, but the scattered complaints are of the nature that concern those who know the importance of the First Amendment — which guarantees all Americans free speech and access to information without government interference. It’s a newspaper’s job to report news, not perpetuate propaganda.
Some readers also have expressed concern about articles on bioterrorism, military readiness (based on information from military officials) and anti-war demonstrations. It appears that those who complain are, like many of us, overwhelmed by the events of Sept. 11. Some do not want to read or hear anything they fear will give solace, information or ideas to those intent on harming this country.
One of the problems for some readers is that newspapers don’t sugarcoat the news. Of course, the anti-American fervor is upsetting; yes, the possibility of bioterrorism is frightening. Both are reality, however.
Even while San Diego Union-Tribune editors value freedom of the press, they also are keenly aware of the responsibility that comes with that right. The newspaper’s intention is not to frighten readers, boost the enemy or undermine the military or the nation’s security. The newspaper’s job is to keep readers informed; to do otherwise would be shirking its duty.
There is a difference between those who are uncomfortable or uneasy about the news and those who do not want to see anything in print that does not bolster their own sense of right and wrong. Some protest in the name of patriotism, but that kind of flag-waving is contrary to the spirit of this country.
Said a reader who gave only her first name: “I would respectfully ask that you don’t give anti-war (demonstrators) any coverage. I think that they are cowards; I find it offensive, and I would like to see them not be empowered now like they were during the Vietnam War.” She said it was “so despicable to give them a voice at this time.” The reader called such demonstrations anti-American.
Like the Union-Tribune, ombudsmen at other newspapers have reported complaints from readers who fear newspapers are giving terrorists information they don’t already know or that is not available through other means.
E. Ted Daniels, ombudsman for The Indianapolis Star, said he had about 30 complaints when the newspaper ran a story about people who live near an Army depot where old nerve gas is stored. Readers complained that the newspaper was “telling terrorists how to attack this place,” Daniels said. Yet, he pointed out, all the information had been previously reported or is on the depot’s Web site.
When The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story about the possibility of bioterrorism, one reader told ombudsman Shinika Sykes that the paper might as well have sent an invitation to terrorists.
Dennis Foley, ombudsman at The Orange County Register, said he has picked up a “heightened sensitivity by readers to anything they believe is inappropriate ‘at a time like this.’ ”
Sometimes, it’s people who have not always had rights that Americans take for granted who understand what freedom is about.
Take the parents of Ernest Imhoff, former ombudsman for The Baltimore Sun. They were German immigrants in the late 1920s who lived in Williamstown, a small town in the far northwestern corner of Massachusetts.
“Grateful and proud new American citizens, they flew the American flag, not just on holidays or days of tragedy, but often,” Imhoff said. “They also framed the Bill of Rights and placed it in the front hall, the first thing anyone saw when people entered our house. To them, America was both flag-flying patriotism and basic American rights so rare on this earth.”
