Crack a book - Read a newspaper

If you want to be a good citizen, you need to trust your newspaper

Crack a book - Commentary

Just days before The Newseum closed n Washington, D.C., my son and I made one final pilgrimage to a museum we revered for its celebration of the media’s role in democracy, freedom of the press and its defense of the First Amendment.

We waited close to an hour in the rain in a line that wrapped around the building. We gazed upward at the front facade where the 43 words of the First Amendment were embedded.

It meant something to us. Those words should mean something to all Americans.

It was a day of inspiration and also much sadness.

The Poynter Institute reported in its daily newsletter Wednesday that workers in Washington, D.C. had begun dismantling the words that I held so inspiring from the front of the Newseum.

It had some strong symbolism in these difficult times where so many citizens can’t seem to settle on a trusted source of news.

In another news item, the Poynter folks reported that Alden Global Capital - a hedge fund - had agreed to acquire Tribune Publishing in a $630 million deal. Tribune publishes such newspapers as the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the New York Daily News and Hartford Courant.

Alden is known for its brutal cost-cutting measures. I fear there will be more journalism casualties, and maybe more importantly, another blow to democracy in the coming months.

You don’t have to read for very long on social media to understand that many are being misinformed and repeat what they hear from opinion shows on cable television.

I want to shout, “Crack a book! Do some reading! Subscribe to a newspaper!”

So many people in recent years have told me that they don’t know what to believe anymore. I urge them to subscribe to a newspaper. If they can’t get it delivered, subscribe online. Newspapers can still be trusted.

If they are tired of the cable news opinions and talking heads screaming, I urged them to watch PBS Newshour where I learn more about the world beyond the United States than anywhere else.

We must have an informed citizenry and that starts with all of us.

If you are not reading a newspaper, if you are not being careful in your news choices, you are not being a good citizen and that puts our country at risk.