Media just reporting what they see and hear
I agree with David Peterson that we need more rational thinking in our thought processes (“Filter media reports and make up one’s own mind,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 21).
However, regarding whether media provides fair and accurate reporting, it is the actions of people in the news that drives what appears to some to be heavy bias in the reporting of those actions.
Many studies show that it is impossible to eliminate unconscious bias completely from our writing, and this includes those of reporters. Good journalists have always tried to reduce as much as possible the unconscious bias in their writing.
I am not a journalist, but I believe that because of today’s political polarization, good mainstream journalists are forced to pay closer attention to potential bias and are actually doing a better job of this now than in the past.
It is the actions of the people in the news that make it seem heavily biased if you are a supporter of those people. Good media, no matter in which city they are located, are just reporting what they see and hear.
Tony Hoff
Kaneohe
Soaking middle class pays for ‘free lunch’
I loved the editorial cartoon showing free everything (Star-Advertiser, Nov. 20).
I remember an acronym from a novel I read as a teen. It was first coined long ago, when people seemed to be wiser than today: TANSTAAFL — There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
It may be free for one person, but someone is paying for it. There also is no such thing as freedom without responsibility. Of course the government would want to put the burden on the already overburdened middle class. Why not? Unlike the government, we are used to living with less.
Bill Schroeder
Kailua
Ige wasting tax money by allowing TMT protest
What is taking the governor so long to rectify the Thirty Meter Telescope controversy on Mauna Kea? Why is he wasting our tax money?
Right now, it has cost us more than $9 million and counting. Does he really expect those protesters to just go away peacefully? They will stay there because he won’t take the initiative and remove them.
Construction must start soon or else the TMT will be forced to go somewhere else. The way it’s going right now, the protesters could be there for years and we taxpayers will end up footing that bill. It’s only been a few months and we have spent more than $9 million so far. Ige had better start getting his act together.
Joey Lee
Waipahu
Put giant turbines by governor’s house
Being as they would definitely help meeting our governor’s clean-energy goals and mitigate global warming, I wonder if Gov. David Ige would allow wind turbines as large as those being built at Kahuku as close to his Central Oahu home as they will be at Kahuku? They would be able to operate in both trade and Kona winds.
Alan Yagi
Aiea
Tell us what you’re thankful for
Maybe it only seems that things have gotten more divisive. Maybe we’ve become too focused on the negatives instead of the positives. Here’s your chance to reflect on things to be thankful for, and to share with fellow readers. Today through Nov. 24, we’ll be accepting “Be thankful” letters (150 words max) or essays (500-600 words). A collection of these will run on Dec. 1, Thanksgiving weekend. Email to letters@staradvertiser.com or send to 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 7-210, Honolulu, 96813, c/o Letters.
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