Thank you, The Washington Post, for capturing the attention of the country with your commercial that detailed the history and importance of journalists.

Thank you, The Washington Post, for honoring journalists who are missing or who have been killed while reporting and for demonstrating how dangerous our jobs can sometimes be.

Thank you, The Washington Post, for not trying to sell us a product, but instead selling us the ideas and values associated with the freedom of the press.

Among those not so thankful, however, was Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted Sunday, “You know how MSM [mainstream media] journalists could avoid having to spend millions on a #superbowl comercial to gain some undeserved credibility? 

How about report the news and not their leftist BS for a change.”

Along with his spelling errors, Trump Jr. seems to have missed the point of the Washington Post’s commercial. 

Ideally, journalism is objective, letting the readers or audience think for themselves and come to a conclusion based on the facts presented. Nothing more, nothing less. Opinions and suggestive words and phrases should not be included, but none of these could be found in the Post’s commercial. It was straightforward and objective, and it let the audience decipher for themselves its meanings and messages. Trump Jr. made it political and took yet another stab at journalism. 

Yes, the advertisement cost a lot of money, which is something almost scarce in the world of print news media today, but it was worth it. If the American people, including the president and his family, refuse to see the good in objective journalistic reporting, then they must be reminded. Though journalism can succeed without their support and praise, it is better when we serve a people who trust us. 

Thank you, The Washington Post, for reminding us all that democracy dies in darkness.