Freedom of the Press and The Circus Pig and the Kaiser

My letter to the Berkshire Eagle was published May 7, 2019 and I’m pleased to share it with you.

Letter: Alarming US drop in press freedom

Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2019 5:03 pm

To the editor:

We celebrated World Press Freedom Day last week on May 3, even as we continued to be outraged by this administration’s attacks on the press as “an enemy of the people.” We can take little comfort knowing that our perceptions are borne out by the 2019 Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders.

The index highlights a downward spiral in freedom of expression based on measures of the level of freedom accorded the media and the safety of journalists. The US descended three places to 48th among the 180 countries measured. This was the first time since the index was formulated in 2002 that the US was put into the “problematic” category, largely because of data on the intensity of abuses and potential for violence. This sets us well behind Nordic countries like Norway, Finland and Sweden (ranking first, second and third) and even below Belgium (9th), Germany(13th) and France (32nd).

The secretary-general of Reporters without Borders notes: “Democracy is in great danger [h]alting this cycle of fear and intimidation is a matter of the utmost urgency of all people.” The Washington Post reports that, while the imprisonment and murder of journalists are nothing new, it is the brazenness with which governments are targeting journalists that is relatively new and can no longer be ignored. The Khashoggi murder at the alleged hands of the Saudis may be a startling case, but perhaps more important is the steady erosion of accountability for such actions and the permissive atmosphere allowing governments to descend not so slowly into authoritarianism.

In my novel, “The Circus Pig and the Kaiser,” my true life character Vladimir Leonidovich Durov is a Russian traveling circus animal trainer who, in 1907, trained his pig to mimic Kaiser Wilhelm II. He was protesting the Kaiser’s increased authoritarianism and militarist build-up prior to World War I. Durov went to prison rather than have his freedom of expression curtailed.

It takes a page out of Stalin’s playbook to constantly refer to journalists seeking the truth as “enemies of the people.” With propaganda channels such as Fox News to espouse “alternative facts,” we can’t remain complacent as World Press Freedom Day reminds us that facts are real and altering them has bone chilling consequences for our democracy.

Carolyn Kay Brancato, Richmond; Brancato is the author of the recently published historical novel, “The Circus Pig and the Kaiser,” reviewed in the Berkshire Eagle, April 21.