Boston Herald

Granite State gov laments media bias

- By ALISON KAISER and MEGAN TWITCHELL Megan Twitchell is a senior at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, N.H., and Alison Kaiser is a senior at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has tuned out TV news.

“I used to love watching the news,” said Sununu. “But it’s miserable now.”

The Granite State governor said television has become so negative that he no longer watches it, especially cable TV.

As the youngest governor in the country, Sununu, 43, stressed the importance of the younger generation’s role in reviving the credibilit­y of the media. These days, Sununu said, it’s too easy to tell which ideology news stations lean toward.

While he agrees that bias is unavoidabl­e, Sununu argued it ruins the credibilit­y of reporting.

“How you approach the reporting determines your integrity,” Sununu said, adding some do a good job of being impartial.

Sununu praised New Hampshire’s easy accessibil­ity to local politics for youth, and encouraged their role in the future of media. “New Hampshire is all about creating opportunit­y,” he said this week during a statehouse visit by Franklin Pierce University’s The Presidency and The Press summer program.

When asked about passage of New Hampshire’s Voter Residency Law, Sununu said it was all about leveling the playing field.

“The government isn’t here to guarantee anything but equal opportunit­y. People have to understand this is all about fairness,” he said.

The law makes residency a requiremen­t to vote in New Hampshire, cutting out college students who may live in the state but are not residents.

Sununu emphasized that his signing of the bill was not an easy decision, but said it was in the best interest of the majority.

“I might not like this piece of it,” he said, “but at the end of the day it’s not about me. I have a responsibi­lity to 1.3 million people.”

 ?? AP FILE PHOTO ?? ‘IT’S MISERABLE NOW’: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu waves as he arrives to address legislator­s at his budget address last year. Sununu met with Franklin Pierce students at the statehouse to discuss media.
AP FILE PHOTO ‘IT’S MISERABLE NOW’: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu waves as he arrives to address legislator­s at his budget address last year. Sununu met with Franklin Pierce students at the statehouse to discuss media.

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