All along the way the press has recorded events that, for the most part,
are what we know as American history. In the 18th century, American
newspapers told the colonists of British injustice. Depending on the geo-
graphic region, newspapers in the 19th century either criticized or de-
fended slavery. In the 20th century, newspapers alternately lambasted
those they thought were Communists and those who attempted to restrict
the freedoms of those who might have been. Newspapers reported the
horrors and frustrations of Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and envi-
ronmental problems that are enveloping us as we enter the 21st century.

Probably no country in history has a greater legacy of news reporting
than the United States. And no country has had a greater affinity for news
and newspapers. From the colonial period to the space age, Americans
have relied upon the news media to keep them abreast of events, to pro-
vide insight into their meaning, to record history on a daily basis. In a
democracy, this is essentially the job of the press, and except for limita-
tions in time and space, in economics and politics, in ability and under-
standing, the press has attempted to fulfill its role. But whether it's across
a backyard fence, in a coffee room, or in a newspaper, the story that gets
told is never the whole story--and it is sometimes the wrong story.

Like old man Adam, the press is fatally flawed. No matter how hard it
tries, it simply cannot achieve its goals. The reason is simple: The press is
us. It is people with different ideas and beliefs who are trying to present,
and preserve, the truth, whatever that may be. And like the rest of us, the
press sometimes fails on the job.

This book looks at both the failures and the successes of the press. It
also tries to show how the press functions in an agenda-setting capacity,
not on a day-to-day basis but in periods of crisis. In times of normalcy, the
press seems most adept at accomplishing its tasks of informing, educat-
ing, and persuading. But what happens when the environment in which
the press functions becomes volatile? What happens when the public or
the government or the press views a moment in time as being critical? It is
in this environment that the authors attempt to document what the press
reported, how it was reported, and why it was reported. They also at-
tempt to look at something else: how the press reacted when its right to
perform its job was challenged.

Along the long river of American history, the press has played a sig-
nificant role in shaping events. One wonders, however, what course the
river would have run if the words would have been different--or had not
been written.

Lloyd Chiasson Jr.

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