You Need Us

By Kleinheider Posted on December 11, 2008 at 7:10 am

A newspaperman makes the case in the wake of the Blagojevich scandal that newspapers are more important than ever:

Political corruption is not unknown in Tennessee. Back in January 1979, Democratic Gov. Ray Blanton was accused of selling pardons, resulting in Lamar Alexander being sworn in three days early. Blanton was later convicted of selling liquor licenses and served a prison sentence.

Not long ago, the Tennessee Waltz investigation nailed seven state lawmakers on bribery charges — most famously State Sen. John Ford of Memphis, who is now serving a prison term.

This case also shows the importance of newspapers. Corrupt politicians recognize a free press as a threat to their ambitions. Wiretaps reveal Blagojevich tried to have editorial writers at the Chicago Tribune fired for criticizing him. He reportedly ordered his staff to tell the Tribune owner to “fire all those (expletive) people, get them the (expletive) out of there and get us some editorial support.”

The Blagojevich scandal shows that as long as there are political office holders, some will try to abuse their power. A vigilant federal Justice Department and a vigilant media are the best weapons against such abuses

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Tags: corruption, John Ford, Ray Blanton, Rod Blagojevich