Letter to the editor: Media no longer fair and balanced

Recently, I saw a Gallup poll that only 36% of Americans trust the media. The poll went even further in its breakdown, relating that 68% of Democrats, 11% of Republicans and 31% of independents trust the media “a great deal or a fair amount.” To me that seemed like a huge margin between political entities, so I researched.

Nationally, the amount of liberals employed within national media, both print and television, dwarfs the amount of conservatives/independents. Locally, the Tribune-Review is the paper of record. The online editions feature numerous negative articles about the Republican candidate for governor, Sen. Doug Mastriano, while they had no articles that I could find criticizing the Democratic candidate, Attorney General Josh Shapiro. The same for the senatorial candidates, criticism of Dr. Mehmet Oz, lauding of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. These were in the Pennsylvania tab.

In the election tab, I found article after article about President Trump and Jan. 6 and not one about Hunter Biden or the riots of 2020 by people on the left.

Until the fourth estate gets back to presenting the news in a fair and balanced way, this nation will continue to divide. The media continues to stoke the division, while it has become the propaganda arm of one political party. A fair and honest media is a hallmark of what makes this republic different from all the rest. Without it, we are lost.

Richard Bell

Ligonier Township