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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 30, 1987. PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN The Power of the Press?? The middle of August marked the 1st anniversary of my becoming publisher of this paper. From the very first week I have written a column in this position and by now I have written some 60,000 words - some very easy when the adrenalin flowed through the keyboard to the computer screen - at other times very difficult as I groped for the right words sentence by sentence. There were those who interpreted my purchase ofthe Free Press in purely political terns and waited for its inevitable demise, but by now, I expect they will have accepted that I am here to stay. For someone whose background was all science and technology, a newspaper career was indeed a bold leap into uncharted waters. Although the move was well-planned, the last year has nevertheless been a learning experience for me and my staff - I have relied on their professional abilities to keep things moving but at the s'ame time given them a freshness of approach that can only come from a total lack of preconceptions. Newspapers are unique institutions in our society. Although they perform a key role in the dissemination of information, a newspaper is first and foremost a business - without adequate revenue, the public service role is impossible. As in all newspapers, even the big city dailies, the income of the WMitby Free Press comes from advertising - the advertisers in each issue are relying on us to get their message to the public along with the.news, features and sports. The newspaper for its part designs the ads and lays them out in such a way as to enhance their visibility. Some "newspapers" put far more energy and effort into the advertising than they do in news - a good paper finds a balance between them. A paper that performs its news function well (good research, well-balanced coverage) engenders a confidence in its readers that politicians interpret as power. Virtually every government leader at some point in his career gets into a snit about the power of the press and the unfairness of the media in general. However, the power of the- press is more imagined than real. Look at the last election - the press practically without exception noticed and pointed out that the leaders were evasive on key issues (so what else is new?), yet the media was quite unable to focus the public eye on these issues. Look at the Meech Lake accord between Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the ten provincial premiers. Once again, most of the media has been carrying numerous thoughtful professionally written critiques of that accord. Women's groups, native groups, ethnic groups, the governments of the Yukon and NW Territories are all opposed to it. A former Prime Minister has come out of retirement to vent his.outrage, yet the eleven governments involved continue to ignore the public concern. So where does the power lie? with the politicians? or with the public and the press? Only when the public reacts to the information in the papers, do our leaders get concerned about the "power" of the press and even then it is only a smokescreen designed to deflect attention from the real issues. One of the most gratifying things about newspaper writing is the faith people put in you. They think you can move mountains (a frightening resporisibility). But newspapers only inform - it is still up to every citizen as an individual to make his position known to the powers that be. I have had numerous calls from people expressing support for one position or another, yet when I suggest they should call their councillor or write a letter to the editor, théy back off - they either can't be bothered or they don't want to be involved in any controversies. All a newspaper can do is provide information and express opinions. If people don't read it, or don't respond, or keep their response to themselves, then the press achieves nothing. The columns and causes that have elicited strong responses have been rare exceptions - most have little response, others none. The opinions expressed in this column are rarely mainstream, and so, by rights, should be eliciting a reaction. Is there anybody out there reading this? We live in a society where leadership has become a scarce commodity and people are willing subservients to the opinions and attitudes of others. Huxley's Brave New World is here today, i Ih1ee in 6)imne A CONTEST FOR SUMMER STROLLERS AND SUNDAY DRIVERS Sponsored by Whitby's LACAC* to encourage an awareness of our local architectural heritaite Each week throughout the summer, the Whitby Free Press has published a picture of an architectural detail of a building somewhere in Whitby. A draw was made from all the correct entries received by next Tuesday morning for a copy of an interesting heritage book. The last detail was published in the Sept. 16 issue of this paper. All entries were entered in a draw for a watercolour painting of Whitby's Centennial Building by artist Ann Syme. The winner was announced on Sept. 26, 1987 as part of LACAC's "Heritage in Action" day at Henry Street High School. RICK McCOY (left) and his sister hold watercolour of Centennial Bldg. by artist Ann Syme (below) after ac- cepting it on behalf of their brother Steve McCoy of Dundas St. W. Whitby. Presenting the picture (rear) were Rick McDonnell, Chairman of LACAC and Coun- cillor Tom Edwards. DO YOU REMEMBER THESE DETAILS I *LOCAL ACIECUA CNEVTINAVIOYiOMTE