The World newspaper, which is owned by Lee Enterprises, really doesn’t want grassroots democracy in Coos County. In an editorial about the groups working to repeal sections of the NDAA the paper acknowledges they are organized and informed and “the activism they’re practicing is quintessentially American.” Then the editors explain that they don’t approve of acting like an American when “streets need new paving” and then can’t resist insulting these quintessential Americans by instructing elected officials to treat them like children, listen politely and pat them on the head and send them along.

“The anti-NDAA group should keep on doing what it’s doing: appearing before local governing bodies just like any other advocacy group. That local governing body can listen attentively, then get back to the job it was elected to do.”

cuzco_stubbornThere is that phrase again, “the job it was elected to do.” We heard John Sweet utter it as well as Melissa Cribbins even though she eventually signed a resolution opposing key provisions. It seems that not everyone has the same opinion of what elected officials are supposed to do even though America’s history is rife with examples of citizens speaking truth to power and gathering resolutions and letters and initiatives from across the country to present before Congress.

Its curious why the paper is making such a big deal about these groups advocating for a cause at all since it is a very American thing to do. Perhaps the local power structure feels its control slipping away as Coos County residents become actively engaged in the democratic process and has urged the editors to quell the rising tide by belittling their efforts and marginalizing the people involved.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden recently explained his choice of Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian to leak his documents.

After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism. From a business perspective, this was the obvious strategy, but what benefited the institutions ended up costing the public dearly.

In short, we can’t trust corporate media even in small towns because it is driven by profit, not democratic values. The World has aligned itself with a perceived local power structure even as that core group sees its power eroding and dug in its heels on the issue of whether or not the people may redress grievances before elected officials.