FW: Food for Thought

["Craven, Jim" <jcraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

The quote below was offered as a "toast" by John Swinton, the former
Chief of Staff at the New York Times, before the
                        New York Press Club in 1953:

"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. There is not one of you who dares to
write your honest opinions, and if you
did, you know beforehand that it would never
appear in print. I am paid weekly for
keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I
am connected with. Others of you are paid
similar salaries for similar things, and
any of you who would be so foolish as to
write honest opinions would be out on the
street looking for another job. If I
allowed my honest opinions to appear in one
issue of my paper, before twenty-four
hours my occupation would be gone. The
business of the journalists is to destroy
the truth, to lie outright, to pervert,
to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon,
and to sell his country and his race for
his daily bread. You know it and I know
it, and what folly is this toasting an
independent press?"


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