In 1972, two guys with typewriters took down a corrupt White House. They were able to do that because back then people listened to their newspapers. That benchmark of the American First Amendment is now known as Watergate. And those two guys, Woodward and Bernstein, well, they were reporters for The Washington Post.
As a fellow D.C. media person at the time, I had the distinct honor and privilege of knowing personally both Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee; respectively the owner and managing editor of the Post. And, yes; Katie was indeed a very tough old broad when necessary. Ben, well he was right out of the old Hollywood movies like The Front Page. However, first and foremost, they were newspaper people – totally dedicated to that First Amendment.
Against their intense scrutiny, our current president would not be able to long speak disparagingly as he does of the American press.
It’s refreshing indeed to see our Durango Herald joining ranks with the hundreds of papers nationwide in doing what they have been tasked to do – present the American public with the unvarnished truth of the matter (“We’re with you,” Aug. 14). To do the hard thing – to stand up to power and speak back to it when necessary. Katie and Ben would have been very proud indeed of all of you.
Our American free press is not the public’s enemy; it is today what it has always been – a constitutionally ordained voice of and for us the citizens. Thank you, Herald.
John Monroe
Durango
This letter has been updated to correct the spellings of the names of Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee.
