By Editorial Board
The fourth branch of government has never been treated with the same esteem and financial blessings as the executive, legislative and judicial branches of our nation.
Newspapers, while not an official sector of the U.S. government, have been a key factor of democracy for over 200 years, providing an additional check and balance system.
However, daily announcements of newspaper closures or buyouts show that this branch of our government is not on the same solid foundation that the others are.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News, two major, well-respected publications, recently went under to the pressures of staying afloat through a rough economy and a generation of online news consumers.
Meanwhile, in October, the government delegated $700 billion to bail out banks that created irresponsible loan business models. What have newspapers done irresponsibly?
Besides the expected modest error, newspapers have been nearly the sole provider of accurate news.
Most news radio stations and many television stations and online news providers gather their information from newspapers, instead of doing the journalistic reporting themselves.
If newspapers succumb to the situation they are battling, who will provide citizens the information they need to be active in a democracy?
The media industry, and thus the nation as a whole, is in a situation more dismal than that of the banks. Therefore, the government needs to take a dramatic action to save the fourth branch of the government. Without governmental assistance, our democracy is in serious danger.
