Liberals watch MSNBC for same reason conservatives watch Fox

To the editor,

While reading Mr. Wiles backhanded apology to Mr. Polidoro last week, I was struck by his comment that, "Why anyone watches CNN or MSNBC is beyond me." Doesn't he realize that liberals watch MSNBC for the same reasons that conservatives watch Fox News — neither is "Fair and Balanced" and they pander to what their viewers want to see and hear. Both networks are guilty of egregious misrepresentations in their news coverage and attempt to monopolize opinion and suppress free thought.

There is nothing more important to the maintenance of democracy than a free press. To the degree that access to quality factual information is willfully or unintentionally obstructed, democracy itself is degraded. Not only does a mainstream media now tolerate gross misrepresentations of fact but also many, including MSNBC and Fox News, actually legitimize these displays. Unfortunately, their viewers and listeners develop a powerful identification with these outlets and mount ardent, reflexive defenses of them.

As honest, fair and truly intellectual debates degrade before the eyes of the global media audience, the quality of American democracy degrades along with it.

While we should be reassured that Mr. Wiles will "point out" "revisionist spin" and those who are "politicizing everything", I'm not sure how much faith I can put in someone whose "anger" and "assumptions" may cloud his judgment. Isn't he the one that politicized an apology letter?

L. J. Siden

Gilmanton