Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
323154821
label
Newspapers Editors, Washington, DC 4/6/90 [OA 8130]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
323154821
contentType
document
title
Newspapers Editors, Washington, DC 4/6/90 [OA 8130]
citationUrl
identifierLocal
13889-012
collections
Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Curt Smith Chronological Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
323154821
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
238a6b1506fab045
ocrText
Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection: George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Smith, Curt, Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1992
OA/ID Number:
13889
Folder ID Number:
13889-012
Folder Title:
Newspaper Editors, Washington D.C., 4/6/90
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
18
29
1
5
(Smith/Blessey)
April 3, 1990
8 A.M.
PAPER
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEWSPAPER EDITORS
MARRIOTT HOTEL
FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1990
Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. //
This marks my second appearance President before the cream of the
Fourth Estate. And since I love that numbers thing // I am
grateful for the chance to address you on the 300th anniversary
of the American newspaper.
(Last year I spoke for nearly half-an-hour. I thought I'd
do something a little different this year and make my speech the
same length as the average story in USA Today. // So thank you
and good-day.) ) //
( (Seriously, it is a pleasure to be here with the most
exclusive of the major journalistic professional societies. //
// And to once again mingle with the editors of America's finest
newspapers. // And also those who carry Doonesbury. )) //
( (Let me begin with a confession. I'm a newspaper junkie.
// I say that even though you keep saying I have no vision.
Sorry, I just don't see it. // But maybe there's a simple reason
we don't see eye to eye. Here I am traveling around planting
trees, and you're cutting them down to make newspapers. )) //
Don't worry: I still love papers. After all, when I was a
little kid, my mother made me read them. // And now that I'm
President of the United States, I intend to keep reading them.
2
11 Why? Casey Stengel put it best when he said, "you can look
it up": Never have newspapers been more crucial than in this
past year -- what I call the Revolution of '89. 11
Today, that revolution is sweeping the globe -- demanding
rights like freedoms of assembly, religion, press, free speech.
11 Rights that were at the heart of America's Revolution of
1776. 11 Even then, the printed word was its catalyst -- as it
is now for those abroad who demand the freedoms we long ago
sought, and won. // Think of how America's first paper --
Publick Occurences -- began in 1690. // Or how the writings of
Madison and Paine electrified an age. Recall how a man who was
imprisoned but never conquered -- Peter Zenger -- demanded the
liberty that would not be stilled. //
Jefferson said, "If I had to choose between a government
without newspapers and newspapers without a government, I would
choose the latter." And most Americans have agreed. 11 Not
merely because papers helped link the colonies, push back the
wilderness, and preserve the Republic so that, united, we stood.
11 But because Americans love papers even more for what they
mean than what they do. Upholding what free men have always
sought: Free markets // free elections // and free will
unhampered by the State. 11
Over the last year, that idea has spread from Hungary to
Romania to Nicaragua to East Germany. Showing that freedom of
expression is mankind's greatest weapon, and shield. 11 This
concept is as old as the tablets of Mt. Sinai. A concept best
3
described, perhaps, by the first Presidential candidate I ever
voted for. Said Tom Dewey: "You can't shoot an idea with a
gun." // You have helped that truth become ever-stronger -- and
our world thus ever-smaller. Until today, our global village has
become a global family -- your medium a link between one member
and another. //
Look at the brave peoples of Asia and Central America,
Africa and Eastern Europe -- the true heroes of the Revolution of
'89. They prove what Lincoln said: "Let the people know the
facts, and the Republic will be saved." 11 Except that as they
came to know -- and act upon -- the facts, not only a Republic
but liberty itself was saved. 11 For the world's emerging
democracies, freedom of the press has been the heartbeat that
pumped life into the democratic dream. 11
Let me suggest three reasons for newspapers' growing
importance. First, the state of modern technology. 11 Ben
Franklin wrote on parchment; Louis L'Amour on wax paper. By
contrast, even typewriters now seem arcane. Yes, in China
handbills were handed out detailing that horrible day in
Tiananmen Square. 11 And who can forget how in Czechoslovakia,
copies of Vaclav Havel's manuscripts were passed from one reader
to another? // But mostly, it is fax machines, computer
terminals, and other high-tech equipment which have linked
Nations, and peoples, during the last tumultuous year. // If
freedom is the essence of journalism, technology has also made it
4
the message of journalism -- carrying its demand for human
dignity to every corner of the globe. //
Consider, next, the second reason for the print media's
impact on the Revolution of '89: The drama of the events you've
covered. 11 Look at Poland, where Solidarity's struggle has
borne fruit, in free elections. // Or Panama -- where Operation
"Just Cause" has advanced the noble cause of democracy. -- a
noble cause. Look at Hungary -- where last year thousands
greeted me in a downpour. Tears running down their faces --
cheering human liberty. // You've heard of those who cancel a
newspaper subscription. Ask anyone that rainy night in Budapest.
None of them would ever cancel freedom of the press.
In Leipzig last October -- 70,000 workers marched peacefully
for liberty through the streets and squares. And in Prague two
months later -- still another victory for the idea of free
expression. For years, police chased carolers from its King's
Road. Last Christmas, carols warmed the heart of the city.
There was wonder in the air. // Newspapers have been called the
first draft of history. In more countries than we dared dream
possible, they are also becoming the first breath of democracy.
Finally, there is a third reason why the print media has
never mattered more. I refer to the caliber of the editors,
reporters, and commentators who cover the news -- going over the
years from instruments of the state to servants of the people:
Editors, reporters, and commentators. ( (I was only kidding
recently when one of my grandkids asked me the difference between
5
my job and yours'. // I said it was my job to solve America's
problems // and it's your job to make sure no one finds out
about it if I do)). //
The fact is that it's your job to tell the truth -- informing
the public as fairly and responsibly as possible, and letting the
chips fall where they may. 11 Raymond Price is former editorial
page editor of the New York Herald Tribune. And once he wrote:
"The role of the media is neither to promote the government nor
to promote the government's adversaries." // America's print
media has long filled that role brilliantly, and courageously.
Joined in the Revolution of '89 by journalists abroad now free -
- as well as able --to write the truth without censorship or
fear. / /
Who can think of 1989 and '90 without marveling at the men
and women who have upheld -- and honored -- a free and fearless
press? In Czechoslovakia, a playwright becomes President. His
foreign minister and chief spokesman are journalists who had been
jailed for years. 11 And in Columbia, a bomb injures over 70
employees of the newspaper El Espectador. Its building is
virtually destroyed. But the next day, an edition hits the
streets -- printed by a competing paper's facilities. The front-
page headline says, "We Will Continue." They do. And let me
commend those U.S. papers which bought ads in El Espectador to
show support. // In Poland, the former editor of Solidarity
Weekly is named Prime Minister. // And in Nicaragua -- perhaps
ultimate proof that you "can't shoot an idea with a gun."
5
Violeta de Chamorro, former editor and wife of a murdered
publisher, becomes president of the land he loved. Freedom of
the press begets freedom of the people. //
As more countries of the world are following in the
footsteps of democracy, print journalists are leading the way.
Exactly twenty years ago on this date, two reporters -- Sean
Flynn and Dana Stone -- became the first journalists captured by
the Viet Cong. They were imprisoned for freedom of the press.
// The British journalist, , was an authentic hero. He gave
his life for freedom of the press. // So that tyranny would
crumble, and despots fall. Just as editors have sought for
hundreds of years -- and do more than ever, today. //
For that, I thank you -- as your Nation does. And salute you
-- as free men do around the globe. // Newspapers propeled the
American Revolution. And now spur today's Revolution of '89. //
Together, let's keep both alive and well -- for the sake of
everything we believe in. // Thank you for this occasion. Hats
off on this wonderful anniversary. And God bless the United
States of America.
# # #
(Smith/Blessey)
April 5, 1990
2 P.M.
PAPER
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEWSPAPER EDITORS
MARRIOTT HOTEL
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990
2:28 P.M.
yo nee
President Ghilione [Gill-OWN-ee], Foreign Minister Genscher,
Dr. Armand Hammer, Governor Blanchard, Senator Bradley, Burl
Osborne, Susan Miller, ladies and gentlemen, honored guests.
This marks my second appearance as President before the American
Society of Newspaper Editors. I am happy for the opportunity to
address you on the 300th anniversary of the American newspaper.
( (Last year I spoke for more than twenty minutes. This year
I thought I'd do something a little different and make my speech
the same length as the average story in USA Today. // So thank
you and good-day. )) //
( (Seriously, I do have a confession. I'm a newspaper
junkie. // Each day I turn first to The Washington Post. Start
out with the funnies. Then, leaving the editorial page // I
read newspapers the way Barbara eats broccoli // avidly, with
gusto // whether it's good for you or not. ) ) //
((And the thing is: I've always been that way. When I was
a little kid, my mother made me read them. // And now that I'm
President of the United States, I intend to keep reading them. //
The reason is simple -- as Casey Stengel said, "you can look it
up": Never have newspapers been more crucial than over this past
year -- what I call the Revolution of '89. //
+
2
Today, that revolution is sweeping the globe -- demanding
rights that were central to America's Spirit of '76: Rights like
freedom of assembly, religion, press, free speech. // For while
much has changed since America's first paper -- Publick
Occurrences -- published its one and only edition in 1690. //
What has not changed -- even in today's age of visual images --
is the power of the printed word to secure the freedoms we
Americans long ago sought, and won. //
Jefferson said if he had to choose between a government
without newspapers and newspapers without a government, he would
choose the latter -- and most Americans would agree. // Not
merely because newspapers helped write America's first draft of
history. But because -- in more countries than we dared dream
possible -- they are also inspiring the first breath of
democracy. 11 Proving that what I've termed "the idea called
America" is taking hold worldwide.
Over the last year, the printed word has helped liberty
spread from Nicaragua to the heart of Central Europe.
Encouraging free markets // endorsing ballots over bullets //
upholding free will unhampered by the State. The printed word
has helped our global village become a global family -- your
medium a link between one member and another. It has helped
bring the truth to one Nation from another -- becoming an
instrument of democracy in our new Information Age.
In Poland, for instance, Solidarity's strength has borne
fruit in free elections. // And in Germany, a wall collapses --
3
uniting families and lifting hearts. // To the south, Hungary
stages its first multi-party parliamentary elections since 1945
-- here, too, the printed word prevails. And in the Soviet Union
-- its first multi-candidate elections at the local or Republic
level. // Events undreamt of a mere twelve months ago, and
which show -- as Thomas Dewey said -- that you can't "beat down
ideas with a club." // Events showing how the printed word has
been the heartbeat pumping life into the democratic dream. //
Such a heartbeat, of course, demands advocates. And let me
first note the dissidents and educators -- private citizens --
concerned individuals -- all who have acted as couriers of
freedom. // Confucius wrote on bamboo strips; Ben Franklin on
rag paper. Like them, today's advocates have defied the odds,
and often the authority, to print the truth that sets men free.
Recall how in China, students handed out dazibao --
handbills printed on mimeograph machines -- detailing that
time
horrible day in Tiananmen Square. // Or how in Czechoslovakia,
Y
workers risked imprisonment by passing faded copies of Vaclav
Havel's manuscripts from one reader to another. // In the USSR,
officials were once so afraid of information that photocopiers
were regulated. So brave citizens went underground -- printing
dissident writings -- "samizdat" - - a hundred carbons at a time.
// Today, "samizdat" is ebbing -- for protest has gone above the
ground. //
If freedom is the essence of the printed word, these heroes
have also made it the message of the printed word -- carrying its
4
demand for human dignity to every corner of the globe. // And
today -- perhaps more than any time in history -- they march with
journalists who know freedom of expression to be mankind's
greatest weapon, and shield. //
have mid DO
For centuries, America's newspapers have seen as their job
to tell the truth -- informing the public as fairly and
responsibly as possible, and letting the chips fall where they
may. You have done that job brilliantly, and courageously. And
I know that the best example of a free press will continue to
11
come from you. // What makes the Revolution of '89 so
X
unprecedented is that at last , increasing number of foreign
journalists are also free -- as well as able -- to write the
truth without censorship or fear. // Reporters, commentators,
and editors abroad who have gone from instruments of the State to
servants of the people. //
( (Let me take a moment to note one journalist who is not
free -- and who is in our thoughts. Terry Anderson. We hope,
and pray, that he will soon be back among us. ) ) //
Prd
Who can think of 1989 and '90 without marveling at the men
X
and women who have upheld -- and honored -- the tradition of a
courageous free press? In Czechoslovakia, a playwright becomes
President. Both his foreign minister and chief spokesman are
former journalists who had been persecuted by the oppressive
Communist regime for years. // In Columbia, the respected editor
of El Espectador is slain by assassins who shoot from a speeding
motorcycle. But the murdered editor's brother becomes publisher,
5
and VOWS to fight -- and does. "It is a decisive moment in our
history," he says. "We cannot back down."
In that country, a bomb last year injures over 70 employees
of the same newspaper. Most of its facilities were destroyed.
But the next day, an edition hits the streets -- printed by a
competing paper's facilities. The front-page headline says, "We
will continue." They do. And let me commend those U.S. papers
which bought ads in El Spectador to show support. // In Poland,
the former editor of Solidarity Weekly is named Prime Minister.
// And in Nicaragua -- perhaps ultimate proof that you
can't "beat down ideas with a club." Violeta de Chamorro, former
editor and wife of a murdered publisher, becomes president of the
land he loved. Freedom of the press begets freedom of the
people. 11
The printed word propelled the Spirit of '76. And now spurs
the Revolution of '89. As more countries of the world are
following in the footsteps of democracy, print journalists are
leading the way. // Writing that first draft of history -- and
breathing new life into democracy. 11
For that, I thank you -- as free men do around the globe.
Congratulations to all of you on this wonderful anniversary. And
God bless the United States of America.
#
#
#
#