To the editor: Disgrace on ABC Information for not difficult the frivolous lawsuit introduced by President-elect Donald Trump as a result of a commentator made a one-word slip reporting a information story. As a substitute, the community settled by paying $15 million. (“How press freedoms could fare under the second Trump administration,” Opinion, Dec. 26, and “ABC agrees to give $15 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit,” Dec. 14)
By knowledgeable accounts, that swimsuit probably would have been thrown out of courtroom, so I assume ABC Information didn’t need the inconvenience and the authorized bills concerned with preventing the case. But when the free press is not going to arise for freedom of the press, who will?
Thomas Jefferson mentioned, “Our liberty is determined by the liberty of the press, and that can’t be restricted with out being misplaced.”
Lawsuits like this can proliferate, and every time one is settled, a bit little bit of liberty will evaporate. ABC Information ought to have stood up and performed the correct factor. The information group would have been taking a daring step towards defending us and our democracy.
Richard Shafarman, Santa Clarita
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To the editor: Op-ed article author Gabe Rottman is correct. Freedom of the press is important to preserving democracy on this nation.
But when many within the American public view the mainstream media as biased, then the press loses its energy to be a guardian of democracy. This occurs once they “again web page” or omit tales that don’t match their political beliefs.
For a lot of Individuals, the press misplaced its credibility when it downplayed the 2020 summer time riots in cities like Portland, Ore., and Seattle, however had Pearl Harbor-like headlines for a disgraceful one-day trespassing on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Sustaining a free press is vital to preserving democracy. As I see it, to ensure that the mainstream media to regain the belief of all Individuals, they need to finish their bias in opposition to truths that don’t match their narrative.
Mark Walker, Yorba Linda
