lesson 45

  In democratic countries any efforts to
restrict the freedom of the press are
rightly condemned. However, this free-
dom can easily be abused. Stories about
people often attract far more public atten-
tion than political events. Though we
may enjoy reading about the lives of
others, it is extremely doubtful whether
we would equally enjoy reading about
ourselves. Acting on the contention that
facts are sacred, reporters can cause
untold suffering to individuals by pub-
lishing details about their private lives.
Newspapers exert such tremendous in-
fluence that they can not only bring about
major changes to the lives of ordinary
people but can even overthrow a government.
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramati-
cally illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small
town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota. As the parents had five children,
life was a perpetual struggle against poverty. They were expecting their sixth
child and faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had
only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would
have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in
obscurity. But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and
a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. The day after the birth of
the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and
photographers. The news was of national importance, for the poor couple had
become the parents of the only quintuplets in America.
The rise to fame was swift. Television cameras and newspapers carried the
news to everyone in the country. Newspapers and magazines offered the family
huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs. Gifts
poured in not only from unknown people, but from baby food and soap manu-
facturers who wished to advertise their products. The old farmhouse the family
lived in was to be replaced by a new $100,000 home. Reporters kept pressing for
interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at
press conferences. The event brought serious changes to the town itself. Plans
were announced to build a huge new highway, as Aberdeen was now likely to
attract thousands of tourists. Signposts erected on the outskirts of the town
directed tourists not to Aberdeen, but to 'Quint-City U.S.A.' The local auth-
orities discussed the possibility of erecting a 'quint museum' to satisfy the
curiosity of the public and to protect the family from inquisitive tourists. While
the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery,
their parents were paying the price for fame. It would never again be possible
for them to lead normal lives. They had become the victims of commercializa-
tion, for their names had acquired a market value. The town itself received so
much attention that almost every one of the inhabitants was affected to a greater
or less degree.