By: Lenny Mirra, former State Rep. (Georgetown)
4-24
Republicans like to complain about media bias, and I would know, I’m one of them.
But I also figured out that at some point we needed to stop complaining and actually do something about it, which is why I make it a point to submit an article every month in the Valley Patriot. It is also why I try to encourage every small business owner I know to advertise in the paper to help keep The Valley Patriot in business.
If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem!
And the timing is crucial, with newspapers across the country closing their doors because the business model just doesn’t work like it used to.
This is a very real problem as we now have little to no reporting on local issues, which inevitably leads to politicians being more willing and able to engage in corrupt behaviors, especially at the state and local levels.
Add to this, the problem of every source of news becoming more partisan and tribalist, along with the habit of Americans seeking all their news and information from the same sources every time.
It’s no wonder the entire country is becoming more divided and more partisan, to the point where many can’t even speak to their neighbors or family members if they don’t have the exact same opinions of political points of view on every issue.
Meanwhile, disinformation rules, allowing partisan and extremist politicians to also rule. They really go hand in hand.
This is why I take it as a great honor to have been given a 1st Amendment Award from The Valley Patriot at their 20th Anniversary Bash last month. “In 20 years, we have only given out three of these and tonight Lenny Mirra makes it four!” Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan said upon announcing my name.
This is one of the few newspapers, one of the few sources of news of any kind, that goes out of its way to present all sides to all citizens on all Issues.
The fact is, publisher Tom Duggan is a right-wing conservative, yet each edition of The Valley Patriot has an abundance of news and opinion pieces from Democrats, leftists, and even libertarians.
For this, I think Tom Duggan and the good people who produce the paper are the ones who deserve an award for not only having the guts to run a paper but doing it in a way that defies the rest of the industry in presenting balanced news reporting and seeking views they do not agree with so that their readers can decide for themselves what to believe.
This is happening at a time when former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel just got fired from her new gig at NBC for basically having an R next to her name.
Too many of her co-workers couldn’t stand the idea of having even a single Republican employed there, lest viewers be presented with “wrong” viewpoints.
This is hilarious coming from the people who pushed the Russian collusion hoax, the burying of the Hunter Biden laptop story, and outright fiction on stories defaming people like Nicholas Sandman and Kyle Rittenhouse.
Meanwhile, Democrat Party officials like Anthony Van Jones, Donna Brazile, and George Stephanopoulos are still on the air despite countless controversies. The “D” next to their names are apparently a Get Out of Jail Free card on all bad and even illegal behavior.
And so now we’re left with just about everyone at NBC, as well as every other network, cable tv news station, newspaper, magazine, etc. being in the same party presenting only one point of view and only reporting news that makes one side look good.
If consumers of news always get their information from the same source every day, then it’s no wonder so many people are so partisan, so divided, closed minded and so entrenched in their beliefs.
And it’s also no wonder so many more people believe in so many conspiracy theories and falsehoods than ever before.
Everyone who reads The Valley Patriot knows Tom Duggan not only seeks out views from all sides and all groups, but that he relishes presenting them in the face of constant criticism from those who want him to join the choir and only present one side.
The rest of the news industry could learn a lot from The Valley Patriot. ◊
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