Posted on by Chris Mercier

Freedom of the Press, Grand Ronde-style (Day 10)


(This is a recycled post. But I think it relevant for July 4th given Freedom of the Press was a pivotal reason for American independence. I would recommend reading some of the linked articles.)

Earlier today, we appointed the inaugural Smoke Signals Editorial Board. This is something that probably should have been done years, if not decades ago. But better late than never. I am proud to be one of the few tribes to muster the wherewithal to make such a historic decision. Here’s hoping for a domino effect in Indian Country.

Below is an article I wrote for our Tribal newsletter while the Independent Press Ordinance was out for public comment. Hopefully it will explain the thinking behind this decision.

Journalism is what I studied in my undergraduate years at the University of Oregon. Government interference is generally frowned upon. Such was the basis for the famous New York Times v. United States case which went before the Supreme Court in the early 1970’s, the idea of prior restraint. Can the government tell the newspapers what not to print, news broadcasts what not to run? In other words, can government censor the media? The Times case did deal with a legitimate public policy issue and area of concern: the Pentagon Papers, a series of stories featuring classified information about Vietnam whose release was not authorized, not to journalists anyway. For the government, the Times stories revealed too much. For the Times, citizens had a fundamental right to know what the government was doing, not just in Southeast Asia but in many places. The Times prevailed.

Freedom of the press is not a new idea, not in this part of the world nor this part of the country. But it is a revolutionary one. The founding fathers of America saw fit to include it as among one of the most basic rights for US citizens, embedding language in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Furthermore our own Tribal Constitution features language guaranteeing freedom of the press, in Article III, Section 3, Paragraph (k) if anybody is interested. However, up until now nobody has pushed the issue, at least in the form of making it law. Which is the point of the new Independent Press Ordinance. No undue influence on our publications.

Grand Ronde’s situation, and Smoke Signals, is admittedly different from that of the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, the Washington Post. Whereas those newspapers and news outlets run ads and commercials to generate advertising revenues and in turn fund their operations, Smoke Signals, and the vast majority of Tribal newspapers really, are funded by the Tribal government. In fact, the Tribes own them. Which is why independence is a little trickier. There is such a thing as “the power of the purse strings”, meaning the ability of those in power to fund or defund a program, often as a method of undermining. Last year, Council approved the use of revenues from our Government Operations Endowment to hopefully secure perpetual funding for Smoke Signals. The thinking there was that regardless of the Tribe’s fortunes, Smoke Signals and news reporting will continue, being a fundamental service to our tribal members. No matter our economic circumstances, we will always want communication to our members and outside world.

The Independent Press Ordinance was the next step. In essence, Tribal Council will be vowing to not unduly interfere with Smoke Signals, i.e. engage in censorship. That’s the basic idea, but the schematics are slightly more complicated. An editorial board comprised of a majority of Tribal members will oversee the publication, as happens with most news operations, and develop policy, determine themes, etc.. As we cannot completely sever governmental funding from the Smoke Signals, the next best thing is having a separate body of folks bearing the responsibility, much like the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission handles regulatory issues at Spirit Mountain Casino.

Freedom of the press, allowing journalists to report the news objectively, is something that is not available around the world, and Indian Country hasn’t exactly been cutting edge. Countries which systematically either suppress their media or have government-run media operations are not the countries we should look to for anything. Why? Because that includes countries like North Korea and Russia. In Indian Country, when tribal publications have run afoul of tribal governments or leaders, more often than not reporters were running stories on corruption or abuse of power. I heard numerous war stories at NAJA back in 2005, some of which made me cringe.

In Indian Country, when tribal publications have run afoul of tribal governments or leaders, more often than not reporters were running stories on corruption or abuse of power.

A leap of faith is involved here too. Trust in the media is nationally at an all-time low. Fake news stories originating out of Russia or from the keyboards of Macedonian teenagers might have actually mattered in our Presidential election. The question of bias is one that will always exist. For as much as freedom of the press is viewed as a good thing, things can go wrong. But they are rare, and at the end of the day, the only way to ensure true objectivity in news reporting is to remove the government yoke. Especially if journalists are seen as the watchdogs of government.

Throughout history, in Indian Country and elsewhere, the alternative to freedom of the press has been ugly. Tribal Council are elected leaders. The position is not an easy one to hold. But we are also politicians. Would you be comfortable if politicians of either major party had complete control of the media in this country? I wouldn’t. Because that would be neither journalism nor news reporting.

In you are interested in this topic, the links below might be of interest:

For some really in-depth research and coverage on the subject:

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