“Give light and the people will find their own way.” –E.W. Scripps’ newspapers’ motto
May 3rd , this coming Saturday, is World Press Freedom Day, a special day to celebrate the gift of newspapers and professional journalists who provide information and perspectives to keep us thinking and working to understand our world.
Availability of daily and weekly newspapers has been the source of great joy, entertainment and education for me since childhood…now some 80+ years of abiding gratitude, fully aware of the gift from journalists, local and world-wide.
The NKY Tribune became a daily read for me soon after it appeared in 2015. Our own Northern Kentucky e-newspaper. Truly a gift.
It was a year ago near the end of April when I finally decided to respond to the persistent nudge to share some Northern Kentucky poems with the NKyTribune for April’s National Poetry Month.
One of my favorite Voices contributors, based in Western Kentucky and WKU, had just written about a book of poetry. Maybe a few poems from Northern Kentucky? I sent a few samples. Editor and publisher Judy Clabes asked to phone…so we had a conversation on a Sunday afternoon.
She asked for more than poems which in themselves are not suitable formats for newspapers, some teaching accounts, international fellowship experiences and travel with students. I agreed to send some along to her. I thought of years of research in prejudice and its reduction. How needy our world is in that regard. Was that part of the nudge? Any trepidation I felt was due to my really enjoying the ease of retirement.
I was thinking that we would have another chat when she said, “I’ll give you the Monday slot. Your column will start tomorrow.” A column? I sat in stunned silence as she said good-bye.
And there you have it…the beginning of fifty-two weeks of Monday columns…and I am still stunned.
The Voices/Opinion section was the right spot for anything I might contribute.
Clearly, opinions, remembered events, perspectives, and poems embedded in articles. Not a professionally trained journalist, for sure, merely a Northern Kentucky native voice.
For World Press Freedom Day, may we acknowledge how much we rely on professional journalistic reporting. They are “there,” reporting what they see and experience, what they dig into to find the facts, asking the hard questions. Some of them are in war zones, living under challenging conditions, arrested, taken hostage, too often suffering for devotion to their calling for finding the truth. And we are ever grateful.
Many years ago, I decided to read more articles and opinions opposed to my own views and perspectives. Their voices, made available in our newspapers, allow us to consider the other sides’ views in the privacy of our homes. I’m grateful for those sections of the newspapers, too.
Freedom of the Press…essential to our world and the world at large. May its light shine on as we continue to find our way.
A Blessing
May you see
What needs to be seen,
May you hear
What needs to be heard,
May you say
What needs to be said,
May you perceive
What needs to be perceived,
May you love
What needs to be loved,
For the Lord of All
Is Present.
–JJHarris/ June 2014
Judy Harris is well established in Northern Kentucky life, as a longtime elementary and university educator. A graduate of Thomas More, she began her career there in 1980 where she played a key role in teacher education and introduced students to national and international travel experiences. She has traveled and studied extensively abroad. She enjoys retirement yet stays in daily contact with university students.