Press

On TV this AM, a discussion covered the liberal slant of the press and the question arose as to how this came about. One explanation starts with the founding fathers who suggested that the press act as a “watchdog” to keep the government accountable by informing the public about its actions. This was and still is the main purpose of the press but it has been expanded. In 1893 The Chicago Evening Post writer, Peter Dunne introduced the world to a fictitious character name Mr. Dooley who famously said, the job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and this opened the door for the press to move beyond the government to private companies and individuals. Since that time the press has moved slowly to include non-government entities and this led to libel law to protect individuals. Most of the time the press is interested in large companies who act outside the law and the people welcome this. During the 20th century big corporations were aligned with the republican party and thus the press championed the workers by going after corporations. This started with legitimate complaints but in time became political and remains so to this day. The recent election has challenged this idea and many working people have now aligned themselves with the republican party. The press has not yet changed their perspective but that may come in time.