Democracy dies in fear

Are you as alarmed as I am to see some of the most storied institutions of American journalism buckling under pressure from the new Trump administration? Today, it is the billionaire owner of the Washington Post effectively abolishing the vaunted editorial independence of its opinion page (following a similar development at the Los Angeles Times). Previously, it was ABC News caving in the face of a defamation suit that it almost certainly could have fought and won. With CBS under similar pressure, will it soon do the same?

The Washington Post’s famous tagline – “Democracy Dies in Darkness” – remains true. But it is also true that democracy dies when fear prevails. It is fear that engenders the kind of self-censorship, willful ignorance and mindless conformity that we are seeing from those who have bought their way in to the fourth estate.

At Project Syndicate, which began as an effort to advance the principles of an open society in former communist countries, we assure you that we will never knuckle under. Our comprehensive coverage of the new administration’s betrayal of friends and allies and attacks on democratic institutions should leave no doubt about where our own commitments lie. By providing unrivaled analysis from world-leading experts, we see ourselves as an antidote to the chaos and confusion that anti-democratic forces want to instill. But our independence and steadfastness in providing this invaluable public service does not come free. We need your support now more than ever.

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Kenneth Murphy is editor in chief of The Project Syndicate project-syndicate.org