We conclude our MPR winter member drive with a program about the importance of independent journalism.

Loyola University-Chicago history professor Michelle Nickerson was featured recently at the Minnesota Historical Society's "History Forum."

She tells us about the centuries-long history of "fake news" in the United States.

Beginning with the partisan newspapers in the earliest days of the new country, she takes us through the sensationalized "yellow journalism" of the late 19th century on to the 20th century when journalists established their first code of ethics — and to the elusive search for "truth" and "facts" in today's cable news and social media landscape.