To celebrate the recent unblocking of the Santa Clara Weekly by Mayor Lisa Gillmor on Twitter, the United States Senate has decided to remind the nation of the “vital and indispensable role the free press serves.” (Resolution MAZ18847 Aug. 16)
“Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Senate affirms that the press is not the enemy of the people,” states the resolution.
Yes, lo and behold Santa Clarans, the Weekly is not some dangerous boogie man waiting in the shadows to devour your soul. Honestly, what scary stories has the mean blogger man been telling you?
The actual ghouls and demons are those who spin lies and have not-so-secret alliances with people in power to silence the voice of the independent press.
In case you didn’t know, the Santa Clara Weekly is the official newspaper for the City of Santa Clara. However, you wouldn’t know it by the way the Mayor and her allies insistently attempt to condemn and discredit this paper with nothing resembling facts.
In the resolution, the US Senate “condemns the attacks on the institution of the free press and views efforts to systematically undermine the credibility of the press as an attack on the democratic institutions of the United States.”
The Weekly may be the official newspaper of Santa Clara but it is not owned by the City. We don’t answer to them.
The Mayor would rather us quietly cover the community events in Santa Clara and turn a blind eye to City Hall. The Mayor would like us to keep our mouths shut instead of letting you — her constituents — know how she and her friends are running your city.
As the resolution states, it is our role in this community to “inform the electorate, uncover the truth, act as a check on the inherent power of the government, further national discourse and debate, and otherwise advance the most basic and cherished democratic norms and freedoms of the United States…”
At the Weekly we make it a point to cover the good and the bad. We won’t show you Santa Clara through rose colored glasses, but we will show you the amazing things this city has to offer. But, again, that doesn’t mean we will hide the nastiness that can breed in a city, even one as great as Santa Clara.
But because we refuse to keep vital information from the hands that deserve it most — yours — we are the bad guys.
The media is being demonized all over the country so, no, the Weekly is not special. However, this demonizing is dangerous and, in some cases, life threatening.
We’re grateful. Some news outlets have been threatened with violence and, even still, some outlets have actually been attacked.
During this disturbing climate, it is very comforting to see that someone out there values the media — shout out to the US Senate — but what the Weekly really cares about is you. Our readers.
We know many of you see us as a friend, and thank you for that. With another election coming up, we will be a friend to you and continue to show you both the beauty and the beast that elections tend to bring about.
We’re not asking you to follow us blindly. In fact, fact-check us, question us, write us letters, anything, because, unlike the Mayor and her friends, we really value transparency.