The Morning Paper. 8” x 10” Oil on canvas 1972 Private Collection

The Morning Paper

This familiar scene of mother reading the paper while enjoying the sun was especially appealing to me. The way the light touched her hair and sweater told me to translate into paint. While painting her expression, I recalled her comments, “It’s all about bad people. I quit reading the stuff and threw it away; besides, I know a lot of nice people!” We noted the imbalance and wondered what it encouraged and discouraged.

Some news reports seem to be persuading politically instead of informing objectively. What is reported and isn’t reported sometimes has an appearance of selective bias. Good journalists, reporters, and publishers are easy to recognize. May their numbers increase and the power of all news media be in honest hands always conscious of what freedom of the press really means. It is truly an instrument with profound responsibilities having to do with a well-informed world for civilization’s good progress. Even with all the skills they possess, can the true picture be presented? Maybe that’s the unrelenting quest, to find the truth and tell it like it really is, without bias, influence from pressure groups, political control, or functioning from a monopolized foundation. I fervently hope so.