Everyone is entitled to free speech. But journalistic freedom is another issue. At one time, local newspapers were owned by private companies, and local news represented the local community first, with national news coming second. The times have changed, and most newspapers are owned by conglomerates who set the news cycle based on the companies’ beliefs and political influence. Local news is a small part of these news conglomerates. Reporters in these companies have been reduced, and the newspaper editors are far removed from the local issues. News stories are published without regard to community concerns. Reporters’ relationships with the community structure are biased, and a narrator can tell only one side of the story. If people want to comment on a story, many newspapers will not publish a comment critical of a published news story. People are marginalized in the public forum, and they may have to resort to social media just to have a say in their community. Social media is not a good forum for news because it has no checks and balances. Most comments on social media are negative because they attract disagreement from people who just want ‘hits’ on their name, which makes them feel important. Feeling good about a social media post is not news. Rural small towns have to take charge of their media to determine what is important to their community.