Our Viewpoint

It's hard to imagine being in Ukraine right now. The devastation and deaths from any war are overwhelming, but the threats and constant danger to my fellow journalists are just as unsettling. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to raise money to buy personal safety items like helmets and bulletproof vests for journalists to continue doing their jobs. Reporters and photographers need life-saving gear to cover what is happening and to tell Ukraine's story.

I'm thankful to live in the United States ­— as a civilian, certainly, but especially as a journalist. Russia has passed a law making it a crime to spread "fake news" about the "special military operation" in Ukraine. International news agencies have stopped reporting from Russia for fear of prosecution, as the legislation makes the "crime" punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The front page of The Ledger, right on top, reads "independently owned since 1905." Seeing what is happening to journalists in Russia and Ukraine makes me value that statement in our masthead even more.

As an independent newspaper, all of the decisions regarding content, editing and even photo selection fall to me. I don't sleep much on Tuesday nights after paper production is finished as I think about everything in these pages. I hope I've made the right decisions, hope I haven't forgotten anything and hope I'm doing the best job to represent all of Sanders County. I can't imagine if I was also having to worry about being shot or imprisoned for seeking truth.

Respected and professional media outlets work tirelessly and with integrity to tell an unbiased truth. My fellow journalists in Ukraine have an obligation and a right to tell what is really happening without being discredited with cries of "fake news" by a government seeking to change the story to their liking. But while the phrase "fake news" has become common in the U.S. in recent years, it has never come with the threat of injury or jail.

— Annie Wooden