I took my seat in the second row of the recital hall. Couldn't get close enough, I thought, to this world-class journalist appearing at the University at Albany at the end of April, courtesy of the New York State Writers Institute and the Women@Work network.

Cokie Roberts arrived unceremoniously to present a craft talk, and, despite my by-now stiff neck from looking straight up at the stage, I soaked up every word. She graciously, but pointedly, answered audience questions about her work as a writer — often referencing the unique experience of women writers, especially when she began her career, married to a journalist who didn't face the same obstacles, for obvious reasons.

Although we were asked to stick to questions about the writing process, it was impossible not to probe beyond, to contextualize her decades of experience. The inevitable question came: "How have things changed for journalists under the current administration?"

"Well, for one thing, we're now called enemies of the state," she said, adding that all journalists feel threatened. When they cover Donald Trump rallies and events, they're shouted at, spat upon, shoved, even thrown out. Hard to imagine, but for female journalists it's even worse, she reported. "They fear for their lives."

More Information

Patricia Nugent lives in Hadley.

I've seen this on television, read about the erosion of the First Amendment. But to hear of professionals I respect being in danger for reporting what they're paid to observe — to hear firsthand that it's not hyperbole — made me shudder. Writers, poets, and artists are among the first to be rounded up under fascist rule. And news outlets are appropriated for state messaging, similar to Sinclair News buying up local media outlets.

My hand shot up to ask how can we protect journalists? But I immediately put it down because I know the answer.

We can subscribe to ethical print media. We can thank editors for their courage when they print unpopular truths. We can publicly challenge the party-line rhetoric.

And we can all become journalists.

OK, not real journalists, but we can be witnesses to what's going on. Seekers of the truth. We can all write letters to the editor, opinion pieces, blogs, essays. We can all post observations and photos on social media, blanket friends with emails, print fliers.

To uphold ethical standards, we must make sure factual information is accurate, rejecting memes that misquote a deceased somebody who can't defend himself. What the profession doesn't need is the infusion of more "fake news."

After signing the Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin reportedly said some version of, "If we don't hang together, we will most assuredly hang separately." Danes so fiercely protected their Jewish citizens that the legend arose that everyone had worn a yellow star. Straight men in the Netherlands started holding hands last year after a gay couple was attacked. It's hard to single out enemies of the state if we act in solidarity.

"Hang" with the free press. Open your laptop to bear witness to what will be the end of our democracy if we don't protect the Fourth Estate, which our founders were smart enough to protect in the very First Amendment.