Former journalists condemn Republican candidates for attacks on media, disinformation

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misspelled Adrian Fontes' name.

A group of former journalists gathered outside Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon to condemn the anti-media rhetoric spouted by some Republican candidates running for office.

Steve Krafft, a former Fox 10 reporter, stressed how important journalism is for a free and functioning democracy.

“Journalists work to bring our communities information, knowledge and perspective that makes this idea of this republic possible,” Krafft said. “So if we lose our free press, our precious democracy will wither and die.”

Marlene Galan Woods, a former TV news anchor and chairperson for Adrian Fontes’ campaign, read a written statement signed by over 60 former journalists from all corners of the state warning of the danger some Republican candidates pose to democracy.

“As former journalists, we are here today to sound alarms and express our concern that this election poses a very real and existential threat to our democracy,” Woods said. “We cannot remain silent when candidates up and down the ballot in Arizona have demonstrated blatant and bold disregard for facts, reality and truth.”

Woods said journalists are often members of the communities they serve and demonizing them is a tactic often employed by dictatorships. She added that journalists sometimes make mistakes and challenging the press is a part of democracy, but decried unwarranted attacks from candidates made in bad faith.

“Voting is an exercise of free speech,” Woods said. “These two elements are intertwined and necessary for this American republic to live on. We stand united in our support of free speech, against unfair attacks on the media and journalists and for every citizen to exercise their right — their responsibility — to be informed and vote.”

After reading the signed statement, Woods and other former journalists shared their personal perspectives on the upcoming election and what it could mean for the country’s future.

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“Now is not the time to remain silent or politically correct,” Woods said. “Now is the time to speak up. Only one party is trying to end democracy. Only one party is trying to limit who can vote. Only one party embraces anti-Semitism, racism and an extreme white nationalist agenda — and it is not the Democrats.”

Woods described Republican candidates as “election-denying lunatics” who would destroy the country if elected. Woods said she and her late husband, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods who died nearly a year ago from a heart attack, were long-time Republicans before switching parties after Donald Trump became president.

Woods said she no longer recognizes the Republican Party she once belonged to and questioned whether any remnant of it still exists.

“Today, here in Arizona, the entire slate of statewide candidates on the Republican side are not only proud of Trump’s endorsement, they are literally bowing at his feet and kissing the emperor’s ring. This is how they do it in North Korea. This is how they do it in China. This is how they do it in Russia — in Cuba, where my family’s from.”

Civia Tamarkin, a former journalist who worked for national outlets such as Time Magazine, shared her experience covering Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s trial in 1975 over charges of electoral malpractice.

Tamarkin said staff with the country’s Ministry of Information bragged that they were the largest democracy in the world but stymied the truth after Gandhi was convicted days later.

“Immediately there was a government crackdown,” Tamarkin said. “Immediately there was an emergency. The same civil servants who had boasted about their democracy became the functionary puppets of a police state.”

She described how the Indian government attempted to quash stories about what had happened and she and others had to resort to smuggling their stories by hiding them in the soles of Pan Am flight attendants.

Tamarkin said the story was an example of how fragile democracy can be when faced by those who wish to undermine it.

“When we have candidates at the top of the ballot who take their marching orders from someone who kept copies of Hitler’s speeches in the drawer beside his bed, when he have people who will not accept the reality of the voters’ wishes, when we have people who want to take away every liberty we have, we as journalists must speak out because it is our job to sound these alarms.”

Bill Andres, a former reporter for various radio stations across the Valley and 12 News, stressed that journalism was about seeking the truth and reporting it — not stenography.

“It is the journalist’s job not to please or placate the advertisers nor to gain return on investment for shareholders,” Andres said. “It’s the journalist’s job to determine the truth and report it.”

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former journalists condemn Republican candidates for attacks on media