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 an alternative, 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 skilled accounts, that swimsuit probably would have been thrown out of court docket, so I suppose ABC Information didn’t need the inconvenience and the authorized bills concerned with preventing the case. But when the free press won’t rise up 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, somewhat little bit of liberty will evaporate. ABC Information ought to have stood up and executed the appropriate factor. The information group would have been taking a daring step towards defending us and our democracy.
Richard Shafarman, Santa Clarita
..
To the editor: Op-ed article author Gabe Rottman is correct. Freedom of the press is significant 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 after they “again web page” or omit tales that don’t match their political opinions.
For a lot of People, the press misplaced its credibility when it downplayed the 2020 summer season 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 People, they need to finish their bias in opposition to truths that don’t match their narrative.
Mark Walker, Yorba Linda
