In yesterday’s Sunday News, sports columnist Mike Gross’s weekly column was entitled “Symbolism and drama at Penn State.” So much media attention has been focused on the incidents at Penn State during the last week.

His column is another reflection on those incidents and events, yet the last part of the column is not only about Penn State. We believe the following observation is as important in a free country.

“And finally, some words about the media, my profession, in the wake of all this.

“I have not always, in recent years, been proud of the newspaper business. It’s sad, but impossible to deny, that newspapers no longer have the role in people’s lives that they once did.

“Sad, because if there are no newspapers, who will do stories like this?

“The answer to that question is no one. No one.

“Confession: I have had some knowledge of the seeds of this story, if only in a very vague, rumor-ish way, for quite a while.

“I very much regret assuming that chasing it would have been impractical if not impossible.

“H.L. Mencken once said that a journalist is someone who, when he smells flowers, looks for a coffin.

“From now on, I carry a magnifying glass. And I look for coffins.”

We agree with Gross and Albert Einstein who said: “The search for truth is more precious than its possession.”