AP no friend of true journalism
The Associated Press, whose “news” articles you publish, is no friend of true journalism.
When I studied journalism at Shippensburg University, I was taught that opinion belongs on the editorial page, not in the news columns of the newspaper. Your April 1 front-page article headlined “Trump’s approach to intel agencies shows distrust” includes pure opinion.
The first paragraph, “Weeks of end-run actions and provocative comments have deepened suspicions President Trump is seeking to manipulate America’s spy community for political gain,” was an opinion and manipulation by the “reporter.”
Why didn’t the “reporter” begin his story with a former intelligence chief saying that very thing? Even the first quote which appeared in the fifth paragraph did not support the lead paragraph’s point. That paragraph stated, “‘It reveals a chasm of ignorance of governance about how stuff is done,’ said Michael Hayden, the former head of the CIA and National Security Agency.”
Was the article merely an April Fool’s Day exception? Not really. A March 27 article, “GOP struggles to govern despite monopoly” was equally opinionated. The first paragraph read, “The Republican Party of ‘no’ for Democrat Barack Obama’s eight years is having a hard time getting to ‘yes’ in the early Donald Trump era.” Whose opinion was that, other than the Democratic Party’s and the liberal news media?
I could cite other examples of pure opinion in that article, but consider the March 26 article that appeared on page A5, headlined, “Now what? Options for consumers as drama around health law fades.” Despite the article reporting that 16 counties in Tennessee have no insurers, and individual insurers deciding not to operate in a majority of states, a subhead asked whether the Affordable Care Act is imploding, and then the Associated Press opined, “No.”
I understand you cannot fit all of the opinion pieces of the Associated Press on the editorial page. However, may I suggest that directly under the headline of such articles, you place a subhead titled “opinion piece.”
Richard C. Kauffman
Canonsburg