PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 981, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby r b M...Publishing andIPhotograph Inc. hur essPhone 668-61 i The Free Press Building Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor 1:1 Brock Street North, Ie oniy Whitby newspaper independentli owned and operated by Whithy residents for Whithv residents. P.O. Box 206, Whitby, O Corporate Control of the media doesn't enhance the Freedom of the Press "Congress shall pass no laws abridging the freedom of the press...." - First Amendment The Constitution of the United States "Everyone has the following fundamental free- doms:....freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of information...." Charter of Rlghts and Freedoms The Constitution Action 1980 (Proposed resolution) These are noble words. They are not words that should be taken lightly or used in an irresponsible or reckless manner. The freedgm of the press is one of the most fundamental rights of a truly free and democratic society. It is through the freedom of the press that the freedoms of thought, belief, opinion and expression are exercised by the individual citizen. A free press exists only in a democratic state. For example, there is not a free press in the societies found in Iran, the Soviet Union or Haiti. In these states, the press has become a part of the government not just controlled by it. In this great nation, we enjoy the freedom of the press even tbough it is not a right that has yet to be enshrined in the law as it is in the United States. However, because of a host of economic facts that we cannot relate, because we are not totally aware of them, the press in this country has become a giant corporate entity controlled for the most part, by a few companies. Because of this state of affairs, the Government of Canada appointed the Royal Commission on Newspapers and directed it to study and to come forth with recommendations concerning this country's Fourth Estate. Last week, the Royal Commission handed down its report that will be known in the annals of Canadian history as the Kent Report. The report was named for the commissions chairman, Thomas Kent, a journalist of some renown. The primary thrust of the report is directed at the corporate structure of the newspaper industry in Canada. The report attacks this structure without mercy. The report states quite clearly that: "Freedom of the press is a property right of owners. It is a right of the people." It is a sentiment with which we wholeheartedly agree. The commission has called for the major newspaper chains that operate in Canada to divest its holdings in order to create a healthier competition within the industry. One chain that was attacked with the greatest vigor was the one owned by Kenneth Thompson, the second Lord Baron of Fleet. The commission stated that Thompson should rid himself of either his 39 daily newspapers scat- tered across the country or his chain's flagship - The Globe and Mail, Canada's only national daily newspaper. This newspaper, despite the fact that it is a relatively small community weekly, is extremely interested in the findings of the Kent Com- mission. We find ourselves concurring with the com- mission's suggestion that the corporate giants presently in control of our industry be required to divest themselves of some of their holdings. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, such a move would increase competition in the news- paper industry, not just for advertising revenue, but for "hard news" as well. This competition would be more than welcome because advertisers and readers would have a greater amount of choice of with whom to adver- tise and whom to read. Another reason for our concurrence is that we are becoming increasingly concerned about the fact that many newspapers in many communities across this country are being swallowed up by the giant corporations whose primary interest may not be the newspaper industry. Quite frankly, there are not enough independant newspapers exercising independant. editorial policies. In fact, the small independant newspaper is fast becoming a thing of the past. One of the major problems with the giant corp- orations involved in our industry is that they wield too much political power. Professional journalists working for them are often restrained because the views they attempt to get across conflict with the editorial biases of the owners. This corporate control does not enhance or preserve the freedom of the press as a general principle or as a fundamental right. Instead, it of- ten hampers this freedom in an effort to promote their political policies or to achieve certain political goals. A free press should be divorced from any political influence - in fact, it is our opinion and policy that a newspaper should refrain from en- dorsing political parties or policies and should merely report the facts and reasoned views and allow the reader to determine what is right or wrong. The debate over the findings of the Kent Com- mission will continue for many months to come and this publication will be watching, with great interest, the course of events as they unfold. However, we firmly believe that the freedom of the press must be preserved in this country. Not only should it be preserved, but it should be enhanced so that the other fundamental rights of the individual citizen can be exercised in a free and democratic society. Q~99 Farrow - Parish descendents tracing family Dear Sir: We are tracing our family tree and, wonder if any of your readers would know of our descen- dents. Our great-great- grandparents were Enoch Farrow and Francis Parish, they were born in England, they came to Canada in 1849, they originally set- tled in Hope Town- ship, in 1863 they moved to Oshawa, Ontario. Enoch Farrow died in 1868 and Francis Parish died in 1910, they are both buried at Union Cemetary, Oshawa, Ontario. At the time of her death Francis Parish was a mem- ber of Simcoe Street Methodist Church, we have a clipping supplied to us by an aunt and it says that she was one of the oldest members of the above church. Enoch Farrow and Francis Parish had nine children, Ellen Rebecca, Catharine, Naomi, William, George, Alfred James, Sarah Jane, Hannah Marie and Celena. From the same clipping we know that all of the children were still alive when their mother died, it jives name and places of residence as follows: William of Toronto; George of East Whitby; tree Alfred of Oshawa; Miss Jennie of Brooklin; Mrs. Taylor of Walter's Falls; Mrs. Wm. Blow of Elmvale; Mrs. C.P. Blow of Oshawa; Mrs. Wm. Dingman of Whitby and Mrs. Wm. Scott of Oshawa. Our great-grand- mother w a s Emeline Phillips, she was born in Oshawa, Ontario in 1852, she was the daughter of John Phillips and Ann Knotmele. She had, as far as we Can find out, two brothers, Charles Norman, he died in Hamilton, Ontario in 1880 and is buried at Union Cemetary in Oshawa, Ontario, her other brother was John Junior and he moved to the Galt, Ontario area. We do not KnOW whether they had any children or not. In 1872, she married William Farrow and they had five children, William Franklin, E d i t h Emma, Florence Louise, Alice May and Charles Norman. If there are any of your readers who know any of the above I would be very grateful to hear f rom them. Yours truly, Mrs. John Salmon, R.R. 2, Cameron, Ontario.