The Durango Herald: The notion that journalism is the first rough-draft of history seems to have originated, at least as a phrase, with the editorial board of The Washington Post in the early 1940s. You can see the appeal for journalists at least: There is a certain humility – or if you are disposed to be unkind to the ink-stained wretches, a certain false humility – in saying our work is rough, unfinished, a quick stab; which is true. At the same time, we make some claim to writing history, which is mostly false. We may frame it first, but we are not generally considered primary sources by historians (although the ways we get things wrong often are a rich subject for them).

Yet we persist, doing our best when we can to create a record that serves all sorts of people, including voters and politicians, as near to the present as we can remain. Rather than updating our work, we go on to the next thing and the next, like flibbertigibbets with short attention spans, but with some notable exceptions.

Almost a month ago, we expressed our concern that Gov. Jared Polis’ administration seemed to be stymieing requests for pandemic information by charging state news media as much as $1,770 for access to public records that ought to be free or not carry a prohibitive cost.

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