by Monty Pelerin
Monty Pelerin’s World
It is appropriate to criticize the bias, intellectual vacuity and dishonesty of our so-called press. But people should realize the press has never been good. It is naive to believe otherwise.
Regarding this point, a perspective from the late 19th Century is revealing:
One night in 1880, John Swinton, then the preeminent New York journalist, was the guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft. Someone who knew neither the press nor Swinton offered a toast to the independent press. Swinton outraged his colleagues by replying:
“There is no such thing, at this date of the world’s history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.