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    "title": "Newspapers Editors, Washington, DC 4/6/90 [OA 8130]",
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    "ocrText": "Originally Processed With FOIA(s):\nFOIA Number:\nS\nFOIA\nMARKER\nThis is not a textual record. This is used as an\nadministrative marker by the George Bush Presidential\nLibrary Staff.\nRecord Group/Collection: George H.W. Bush Presidential Records\nCollection/Office of Origin:\nSpeechwriting, White House Office of\nSeries:\nSmith, Curt, Files\nSubseries:\nChron File, 1989-1992\nOA/ID Number:\n13889\nFolder ID Number:\n13889-012\nFolder Title:\nNewspaper Editors, Washington D.C., 4/6/90\nStack:\nRow:\nSection:\nShelf:\nPosition:\nG\n18\n29\n1\n5\n(Smith/Blessey)\nApril 3, 1990\n8 A.M.\nPAPER\nPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEWSPAPER EDITORS\nMARRIOTT HOTEL\nFRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1990\nMembers of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. //\nThis marks my second appearance President before the cream of the\nFourth Estate. And since I love that numbers thing // I am\ngrateful for the chance to address you on the 300th anniversary\nof the American newspaper.\n(Last year I spoke for nearly half-an-hour. I thought I'd\ndo something a little different this year and make my speech the\nsame length as the average story in USA Today. // So thank you\nand good-day.) ) //\n( (Seriously, it is a pleasure to be here with the most\nexclusive of the major journalistic professional societies. //\n// And to once again mingle with the editors of America's finest\nnewspapers. // And also those who carry Doonesbury. )) //\n( (Let me begin with a confession. I'm a newspaper junkie.\n// I say that even though you keep saying I have no vision.\nSorry, I just don't see it. // But maybe there's a simple reason\nwe don't see eye to eye. Here I am traveling around planting\ntrees, and you're cutting them down to make newspapers. )) //\nDon't worry: I still love papers. After all, when I was a\nlittle kid, my mother made me read them. // And now that I'm\nPresident of the United States, I intend to keep reading them.\n2\n11 Why? Casey Stengel put it best when he said, \"you can look\nit up\": Never have newspapers been more crucial than in this\npast year -- what I call the Revolution of '89. 11\nToday, that revolution is sweeping the globe -- demanding\nrights like freedoms of assembly, religion, press, free speech.\n11 Rights that were at the heart of America's Revolution of\n1776. 11 Even then, the printed word was its catalyst -- as it\nis now for those abroad who demand the freedoms we long ago\nsought, and won. // Think of how America's first paper --\nPublick Occurences -- began in 1690. // Or how the writings of\nMadison and Paine electrified an age. Recall how a man who was\nimprisoned but never conquered -- Peter Zenger -- demanded the\nliberty that would not be stilled. //\nJefferson said, \"If I had to choose between a government\nwithout newspapers and newspapers without a government, I would\nchoose the latter.\" And most Americans have agreed. 11 Not\nmerely because papers helped link the colonies, push back the\nwilderness, and preserve the Republic so that, united, we stood.\n11 But because Americans love papers even more for what they\nmean than what they do. Upholding what free men have always\nsought: Free markets // free elections // and free will\nunhampered by the State. 11\nOver the last year, that idea has spread from Hungary to\nRomania to Nicaragua to East Germany. Showing that freedom of\nexpression is mankind's greatest weapon, and shield. 11 This\nconcept is as old as the tablets of Mt. Sinai. A concept best\n3\ndescribed, perhaps, by the first Presidential candidate I ever\nvoted for. Said Tom Dewey: \"You can't shoot an idea with a\ngun.\" // You have helped that truth become ever-stronger -- and\nour world thus ever-smaller. Until today, our global village has\nbecome a global family -- your medium a link between one member\nand another. //\nLook at the brave peoples of Asia and Central America,\nAfrica and Eastern Europe -- the true heroes of the Revolution of\n'89. They prove what Lincoln said: \"Let the people know the\nfacts, and the Republic will be saved.\" 11 Except that as they\ncame to know -- and act upon -- the facts, not only a Republic\nbut liberty itself was saved. 11 For the world's emerging\ndemocracies, freedom of the press has been the heartbeat that\npumped life into the democratic dream. 11\nLet me suggest three reasons for newspapers' growing\nimportance. First, the state of modern technology. 11 Ben\nFranklin wrote on parchment; Louis L'Amour on wax paper. By\ncontrast, even typewriters now seem arcane. Yes, in China\nhandbills were handed out detailing that horrible day in\nTiananmen Square. 11 And who can forget how in Czechoslovakia,\ncopies of Vaclav Havel's manuscripts were passed from one reader\nto another? // But mostly, it is fax machines, computer\nterminals, and other high-tech equipment which have linked\nNations, and peoples, during the last tumultuous year. // If\nfreedom is the essence of journalism, technology has also made it\n4\nthe message of journalism -- carrying its demand for human\ndignity to every corner of the globe. //\nConsider, next, the second reason for the print media's\nimpact on the Revolution of '89: The drama of the events you've\ncovered. 11 Look at Poland, where Solidarity's struggle has\nborne fruit, in free elections. // Or Panama -- where Operation\n\"Just Cause\" has advanced the noble cause of democracy. -- a\nnoble cause. Look at Hungary -- where last year thousands\ngreeted me in a downpour. Tears running down their faces --\ncheering human liberty. // You've heard of those who cancel a\nnewspaper subscription. Ask anyone that rainy night in Budapest.\nNone of them would ever cancel freedom of the press.\nIn Leipzig last October -- 70,000 workers marched peacefully\nfor liberty through the streets and squares. And in Prague two\nmonths later -- still another victory for the idea of free\nexpression. For years, police chased carolers from its King's\nRoad. Last Christmas, carols warmed the heart of the city.\nThere was wonder in the air. // Newspapers have been called the\nfirst draft of history. In more countries than we dared dream\npossible, they are also becoming the first breath of democracy.\nFinally, there is a third reason why the print media has\nnever mattered more. I refer to the caliber of the editors,\nreporters, and commentators who cover the news -- going over the\nyears from instruments of the state to servants of the people:\nEditors, reporters, and commentators. ( (I was only kidding\nrecently when one of my grandkids asked me the difference between\n5\nmy job and yours'. // I said it was my job to solve America's\nproblems // and it's your job to make sure no one finds out\nabout it if I do)). //\nThe fact is that it's your job to tell the truth -- informing\nthe public as fairly and responsibly as possible, and letting the\nchips fall where they may. 11 Raymond Price is former editorial\npage editor of the New York Herald Tribune. And once he wrote:\n\"The role of the media is neither to promote the government nor\nto promote the government's adversaries.\" // America's print\nmedia has long filled that role brilliantly, and courageously.\nJoined in the Revolution of '89 by journalists abroad now free -\n- as well as able --to write the truth without censorship or\nfear. / /\nWho can think of 1989 and '90 without marveling at the men\nand women who have upheld -- and honored -- a free and fearless\npress? In Czechoslovakia, a playwright becomes President. His\nforeign minister and chief spokesman are journalists who had been\njailed for years. 11 And in Columbia, a bomb injures over 70\nemployees of the newspaper El Espectador. Its building is\nvirtually destroyed. But the next day, an edition hits the\nstreets -- printed by a competing paper's facilities. The front-\npage headline says, \"We Will Continue.\" They do. And let me\ncommend those U.S. papers which bought ads in El Espectador to\nshow support. // In Poland, the former editor of Solidarity\nWeekly is named Prime Minister. // And in Nicaragua -- perhaps\nultimate proof that you \"can't shoot an idea with a gun.\"\n5\nVioleta de Chamorro, former editor and wife of a murdered\npublisher, becomes president of the land he loved. Freedom of\nthe press begets freedom of the people. //\nAs more countries of the world are following in the\nfootsteps of democracy, print journalists are leading the way.\nExactly twenty years ago on this date, two reporters -- Sean\nFlynn and Dana Stone -- became the first journalists captured by\nthe Viet Cong. They were imprisoned for freedom of the press.\n// The British journalist, , was an authentic hero. He gave\nhis life for freedom of the press. // So that tyranny would\ncrumble, and despots fall. Just as editors have sought for\nhundreds of years -- and do more than ever, today. //\nFor that, I thank you -- as your Nation does. And salute you\n-- as free men do around the globe. // Newspapers propeled the\nAmerican Revolution. And now spur today's Revolution of '89. //\nTogether, let's keep both alive and well -- for the sake of\neverything we believe in. // Thank you for this occasion. Hats\noff on this wonderful anniversary. And God bless the United\nStates of America.\n# # #\n(Smith/Blessey)\nApril 5, 1990\n2 P.M.\nPAPER\nPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NEWSPAPER EDITORS\nMARRIOTT HOTEL\nFRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990\n2:28 P.M.\nyo nee\nPresident Ghilione [Gill-OWN-ee], Foreign Minister Genscher,\nDr. Armand Hammer, Governor Blanchard, Senator Bradley, Burl\nOsborne, Susan Miller, ladies and gentlemen, honored guests.\nThis marks my second appearance as President before the American\nSociety of Newspaper Editors. I am happy for the opportunity to\naddress you on the 300th anniversary of the American newspaper.\n( (Last year I spoke for more than twenty minutes. This year\nI thought I'd do something a little different and make my speech\nthe same length as the average story in USA Today. // So thank\nyou and good-day. )) //\n( (Seriously, I do have a confession. I'm a newspaper\njunkie. // Each day I turn first to The Washington Post. Start\nout with the funnies. Then, leaving the editorial page // I\nread newspapers the way Barbara eats broccoli // avidly, with\ngusto // whether it's good for you or not. ) ) //\n((And the thing is: I've always been that way. When I was\na little kid, my mother made me read them. // And now that I'm\nPresident of the United States, I intend to keep reading them. //\nThe reason is simple -- as Casey Stengel said, \"you can look it\nup\": Never have newspapers been more crucial than over this past\nyear -- what I call the Revolution of '89. //\n+\n2\nToday, that revolution is sweeping the globe -- demanding\nrights that were central to America's Spirit of '76: Rights like\nfreedom of assembly, religion, press, free speech. // For while\nmuch has changed since America's first paper -- Publick\nOccurrences -- published its one and only edition in 1690. //\nWhat has not changed -- even in today's age of visual images --\nis the power of the printed word to secure the freedoms we\nAmericans long ago sought, and won. //\nJefferson said if he had to choose between a government\nwithout newspapers and newspapers without a government, he would\nchoose the latter -- and most Americans would agree. // Not\nmerely because newspapers helped write America's first draft of\nhistory. But because -- in more countries than we dared dream\npossible -- they are also inspiring the first breath of\ndemocracy. 11 Proving that what I've termed \"the idea called\nAmerica\" is taking hold worldwide.\nOver the last year, the printed word has helped liberty\nspread from Nicaragua to the heart of Central Europe.\nEncouraging free markets // endorsing ballots over bullets //\nupholding free will unhampered by the State. The printed word\nhas helped our global village become a global family -- your\nmedium a link between one member and another. It has helped\nbring the truth to one Nation from another -- becoming an\ninstrument of democracy in our new Information Age.\nIn Poland, for instance, Solidarity's strength has borne\nfruit in free elections. // And in Germany, a wall collapses --\n3\nuniting families and lifting hearts. // To the south, Hungary\nstages its first multi-party parliamentary elections since 1945\n-- here, too, the printed word prevails. And in the Soviet Union\n-- its first multi-candidate elections at the local or Republic\nlevel. // Events undreamt of a mere twelve months ago, and\nwhich show -- as Thomas Dewey said -- that you can't \"beat down\nideas with a club.\" // Events showing how the printed word has\nbeen the heartbeat pumping life into the democratic dream. //\nSuch a heartbeat, of course, demands advocates. And let me\nfirst note the dissidents and educators -- private citizens --\nconcerned individuals -- all who have acted as couriers of\nfreedom. // Confucius wrote on bamboo strips; Ben Franklin on\nrag paper. Like them, today's advocates have defied the odds,\nand often the authority, to print the truth that sets men free.\nRecall how in China, students handed out dazibao --\nhandbills printed on mimeograph machines -- detailing that\ntime\nhorrible day in Tiananmen Square. // Or how in Czechoslovakia,\nY\nworkers risked imprisonment by passing faded copies of Vaclav\nHavel's manuscripts from one reader to another. // In the USSR,\nofficials were once so afraid of information that photocopiers\nwere regulated. So brave citizens went underground -- printing\ndissident writings -- \"samizdat\" - - a hundred carbons at a time.\n// Today, \"samizdat\" is ebbing -- for protest has gone above the\nground. //\nIf freedom is the essence of the printed word, these heroes\nhave also made it the message of the printed word -- carrying its\n4\ndemand for human dignity to every corner of the globe. // And\ntoday -- perhaps more than any time in history -- they march with\njournalists who know freedom of expression to be mankind's\ngreatest weapon, and shield. //\nhave mid DO\nFor centuries, America's newspapers have seen as their job\nto tell the truth -- informing the public as fairly and\nresponsibly as possible, and letting the chips fall where they\nmay. You have done that job brilliantly, and courageously. And\nI know that the best example of a free press will continue to\n11\ncome from you. // What makes the Revolution of '89 so\nX\nunprecedented is that at last , increasing number of foreign\njournalists are also free -- as well as able -- to write the\ntruth without censorship or fear. // Reporters, commentators,\nand editors abroad who have gone from instruments of the State to\nservants of the people. //\n( (Let me take a moment to note one journalist who is not\nfree -- and who is in our thoughts. Terry Anderson. We hope,\nand pray, that he will soon be back among us. ) ) //\nPrd\nWho can think of 1989 and '90 without marveling at the men\nX\nand women who have upheld -- and honored -- the tradition of a\ncourageous free press? In Czechoslovakia, a playwright becomes\nPresident. Both his foreign minister and chief spokesman are\nformer journalists who had been persecuted by the oppressive\nCommunist regime for years. // In Columbia, the respected editor\nof El Espectador is slain by assassins who shoot from a speeding\nmotorcycle. But the murdered editor's brother becomes publisher,\n5\nand VOWS to fight -- and does. \"It is a decisive moment in our\nhistory,\" he says. \"We cannot back down.\"\nIn that country, a bomb last year injures over 70 employees\nof the same newspaper. Most of its facilities were destroyed.\nBut the next day, an edition hits the streets -- printed by a\ncompeting paper's facilities. The front-page headline says, \"We\nwill continue.\" They do. And let me commend those U.S. papers\nwhich bought ads in El Spectador to show support. // In Poland,\nthe former editor of Solidarity Weekly is named Prime Minister.\n// And in Nicaragua -- perhaps ultimate proof that you\ncan't \"beat down ideas with a club.\" Violeta de Chamorro, former\neditor and wife of a murdered publisher, becomes president of the\nland he loved. Freedom of the press begets freedom of the\npeople. 11\nThe printed word propelled the Spirit of '76. And now spurs\nthe Revolution of '89. As more countries of the world are\nfollowing in the footsteps of democracy, print journalists are\nleading the way. // Writing that first draft of history -- and\nbreathing new life into democracy. 11\nFor that, I thank you -- as free men do around the globe.\nCongratulations to all of you on this wonderful anniversary. And\nGod bless the United States of America.\n#\n#\n#\n#"
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