In one of the darkest hours for community journalists, there was a fleeting glimmer of hope that President Trump recognized the importance of a free press. Shortly after the June shooting at a Maryland newspaper that claimed five lives, Trump momentarily struck a rare, conciliatory tone, stating: “Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.”

Like we said, it was fleeting. Within days, the president returned to calling journalists the “enemy of the people,” and again fomented anger against the so-called “fake news” at his rallies.

For those of us working in the news media in Maine, Trump’s statements were somewhat familiar. Maine Gov. Paul LePage made his feelings clear about the media long before #MAGA.

In 2017 he likened “these newspaper reporters” to “pencil terrorists,” saying journalists “incite violence and I’m sick of ’em, and the sooner they get out of business the sooner America can get back and become a great nation.”

The odds of LePage and Trump changing their attitude toward the press are remote at best. But we’re speaking out now as a show of solidarity with newspapers across Maine and the nation who are heeding a call by the Boston Globe: To take a stand on our editorial pages against accusations of fake news, to say with a united voice that we are not the enemy of the people.

A free press is woven into the fabric of American democracy, its right to exist guaranteed in the Constitution. To delegitimatize the press hews at the roots of our nation.

The purpose of a free press is not to stroke a politician’s ego, be they Republican, Democrat or independent, but rather to hold those leaders to account.

Good reporting challenges preconceived notions and shines a spotlight on where we as a society have gone astray.

A free press can we be wielded by the public as a tool to affect change. Regardless of which side of the political divide you’re on, the only way to start fighting back against that which you find unjust is to stay informed. You do that at the local level by reading a newspaper.

We are not perfect, because we’re human. But as noted in today’s Portland Press Herald editorial, “when we misstate a fact, we correct it. When someone disagrees with our interpretation of events, we give them space to tell another side of the story. As new facts emerge, we’ll revisit our work and retell the story in a way that reflects a fuller understanding.”

Whether the story is about protecting those Mainers who cannot speak for themselves, exposing threats to our public safety or letting folks know what their tax dollars are paying for, The Times Record will continue to provide the kind of local, legitimate journalism critical to a functioning democracy.