Neighbor News
League of Women Voter Event Draws Crowd in Acton
Freedom of the Press focus of 3-Part Series
It was a packed house at Acton Villageworks Wednesday, April 11, as the League of Women Voters- Acton Area hosted a forum on the Role of the Press in Our Democracy. The night was the first of three that will focus on the First Amendment Civil Right of Freedom of the Press. Claims of fake news, left or right-leaning viral social-media posts, not to mention Russian Bots are changing the way consumers get their news and form their opinions and sometimes those opinions aren’t even based on fact.
The Boston Globe’s new Managing Editor Jennifer Peter was the league’s first featured speaker. She shared her experience running one of the country’s top newspapers. Peter is living in the new world of journalism that includes declining sales, constant deadlines, and a president who governs through Twitter. It was clear Peter and her team at the Globe is still hard at work holding the powerful accountable. She told the story of corruption in the small town of Bell, Calif. that ended with an investigative series by the LA Times and the conviction of several Bell city leaders for fraud. Peter said that scandal would likely never have happened if the town had not lost it's local newspaper. She encouraged the crowd to support the press with their pocketbooks. She said even if you don’t subscribe to the Globe, subscribe to something because that is the only way newspapers will survive.
Many in the audience walked away with a renewed knowledge of the essential role the press plays in keeping the electorate informed. At least one member of the audience said the news media is being weakened, at the exact time we need it to be strong.
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The LWV will continue this series in Boxborough with two more nights on the same theme. They invite you to join the conversation on Wed. May 2 and Tuesday, May 8 at the Sargent Memorial Library on Massachusetts Ave. Both nights begin at 7 p.m. They are free and open to the public.
More info at www.lwv-aa.org
Link to video of event: https://youtu.be/KcsYnrvU2O