President Trump. It feels odd to write that. But this country changed the presidency for the 45th time today and a new era awaits all of us.

 

The new president’s 16-minute inaugural speech sounded very much like a cut and paste job, with familiar themes and phrases from his campaign speeches. The speech was an appeal to his millions of supporters and an affirmation of his core approach.

 

All of us are entering an important time in U.S. history as we wait to watch a truly unconventional man set a course for the next four years.

 

It has been said repeatedly since election day that journalists face unprecedented challenges in covering a president who has such disdain for what they do. It will be a bumpy ride, but the work of journalists will remain critical, much as the Founding Fathers foresaw more than two centuries ago.

 

 It’s a good time to be a regular  and thoughtful consumer of news and information. There may be as many sources for news as there are stars in the sky in this time of a 24/7 flow of news and commentary. We owe it to ourselves and to others to stay abreast of developments at all levels of government. Democracy is not always pretty or easy to observe, but now is no time to  just sit back and treat it as sport or entertainment.

 

 

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