Today’s media biases need to be called out

[Columnist Greg] Harton is right. President Trump is often thin-skinned and he is prone to exaggeration, but I would have to say the same about many in the media. Since Harton is in the business, I understand why he is defensive, but I think his recent column was off the mark.

First, today’s media consists of more than the press. It is also made up of television and internet programs as interested in entertainment as in reporting the news. Today’s media not only slants the news through error but often through bias. Many of us have criticized the media long before Mr. Trump took office because of its wish to sell a story rather than just report the facts.

Nobody has called for the elimination or control of the media but additional tools to defend against libel might be necessary in today’s climate. Lots of criticism and calling out fake news is important to keep some in the industry honest.

I have seen the media purposely slant the news in what they report and what they ignore. I have seen the media do great harm to individuals by failing to get the facts and rushing to judgment. When a person is unjustly called thief, pervert or liar in today’s media, it reaches millions almost immediately. If or when there is a retraction, it’s usually low key and on Page 4 after the harm is done. I watched as the media swooned over President Obama and ignored his missteps. I watched as the media poked, prodded and viciously attacked President Trump and his family from their first day. The “fake news awards” thing was a stupid idea, but please don’t pretend that it doesn’t exist. I’ve seen it in your own publication.

I agree 100 percent that we need a free press but biased or false reporting should never be acceptable from any organization. Yeah, the president would probably do better to ignore the punches and jabs, but it is sometimes fun to watch a gloating, arrogant talking head get called out.

I watch and read a number of different news outlets and I see the fake news mantra confirmed almost daily. I watch as so-called news anchors attack the president, his family and his friends with almost a vicious glee. Some vehemently argue with anything that might put the president in a good light, like those who argued with Trump’s doctor and even hyped a television diagnosis from one of their own.

Yes, politics is a nasty business and it often gets personal but that didn’t start with Donald Trump. The nastiness is spread by the press and the media like a plague and the only defense is to call them out when they spread lies, exaggerations and distortions. A biased or hateful media might be the quickest way to “grow bad government” or create a “s***hole” country. DALE LANGE Bella Vista