That year, I joined the staff of the Sunday magazine of what was then called the Bulletin Today . I am telling you this to remind you what it was like then and why it is important that the press not be like that again. What we got in 1986 was freedom. And it was, I recall, something we thought was precious. Since then, this freedom has been much devalued.
Some people now think it is a curse rather than a blessing.
We have been told that we do not deserve of this gift, that we have never demonstrated the capacity for responsibility that goes with it. Our detractors are right. Some of us are reckless. Some of us even accept money from their sources. In fact, I will dare to say that some of us are paid to write positive articles or not to write damning ones paid discreetly through intermediaries, of course, but paid nonetheless by some of you who are in this room today.