A dangerous drift began with a few catchy words tossed out, catchy, but thoughtless, and dangerous.  Talk of “fake news” and calling journalists “enemies of the people” were terms once used only by dictators.  A free and independent press has guarded democracy since its beginning, sometimes at a high cost,  It’s not perfect, but it’s far superior to controlled or censored news.

That’s the cry coming from newspapers around the country this week.

The pus...