Local news is here for you, always

Staff Editorial

We have unfortunately reached an age where there is great distrust in the news media.

The worst part is, this distrust is in many cases justified.

Looking at most major news outlets, we find that reporters use biased language in both their stories and headlines.

The outlets that come to a lot of people’s minds are Fox News and CNN, but they are in the majority when it comes to biased reporting in major news networks.

This is not to say that most news stories by these networks are biased; they’re not. It is our opinion that softer stories, such as feature stories, usually do a good job of telling the situation as it is.

It is usually regarding controversial topics, such as politics, that a reporter might take a side.

And it is not just the wording that expresses a bias. A news organization also shows bias when it only chooses to write stories from one angle, or it only interviews sources who agree with each other.

We at The Daily Eastern News are disheartened in these situations. We have been taught that the purpose of journalism is to inform the public of what is happening in the community and in society, not to push an agenda, as it has become for some.

We believe that local news is a great source for news, as local outlets have a duty to their specific communities rather than to a broader audience that nowadays seems to consist of either Republicans or Democrats.

We are thankful for the quality of teaching we have are receiving in Eastern’s journalism program, which iterates how to report in a fair, unbiased manner. Our training comes through lectures and a great deal of hands-on experience in the various aspects of the field. We practice getting a variety of sources for each story, including ones with differing opinions. We try to cover all of our bases.

Of course, every reporter makes mistakes from time to time. We wish we could say we got it right every time, but we do not. No one is perfect even at what they specialize in.

Yet, we learn from our prior faults and try to do better the next time.

We are not here to push an agenda; we are here to serve our community.

We are local news, and we are here for you.

The News staff can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].