Editorial: Government and media need to serve the people

The relationship between government and journalism frequently focuses on the adversarial.

This is because there is a three-legged stool of public information. The government has the information, the people need the information, and journalists are the conduit for the exchange of that information.

The adversarial nature comes about because, sometimes, it isn’t our job to just pick up the information that the government offers. Sometimes, it has to be pursued.

But that isn’t the only way the two sides interact. In times of emergency, the media is an important part of delivering the information that needs to be distributed quickly and completely. School cancellations, road closures, boil-water orders and weather emergencies are just a few instances.

The less common are the more dramatic. A school shooting. A major pile-up on an interstate. A hostage situation shutting down access to a neighborhood.

A prime example? The derailed train near East Palestine, Ohio, that led to explosions, fire, released chemicals and evacuation.

On Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was scheduled to give a news conference about the lifting of evacuation orders. The conference was delayed. The live report for a news reporter was not. Evan Lambert of NewsNation was doing his job when DeWine began speaking.

The ensuing altercation as police and the Ohio National Guard tried to stop Lambert’s reporting ended with his arrest and charges of resisting arrest and criminal trespass.

The incident was recorded. DeWine has decried it, as has the Society of Professional Journalists and the NAACP. Lambert was released, but if charges are to be dropped, as some anticipate, that had not happened as of 3 p.m. Friday.

This was an unnecessary complication in an already difficult situation. People were removed from their homes as chemicals filled the air, with trains in flames. Yes, tensions were high. But the problem as shown on the video is that the focus was on the press as the enemy.

We aren’t.

Reporters are the voice of the people asking questions of their leaders. They are also the megaphone amplifying the messages those people need to hear.

It is incumbent on government — both elected officials and their agents — to remember that in times of distress, we are all on the same side, with the same job. We all serve the people.

There will be enough time for the adversarial stuff when the fires are out.