In our day and age the media has a profound impact on the mood of our country and the path taken by citizens and legislators. In recent years, some have questioned whether the media has become too active as an agent of specific viewpoints rather than as a means of disseminating facts and events. In the process of doing research for a local historical project, I came across a short but insightful commentary in the Shelby County Democrat, the news medium of Shelby County Missouri in the 19th century. In a grateful spirit of impartiality, the newspaper commended its competitor, the Troy Free Press, for its adherence to the standard of openness and impartiality. To Shelby’s staff, this was “true journalism”. I would agree.
One wishes the media of our times were so generous and the industry so dedicated to its cause.