Accusations of media bias and racism are unjustified

By Lethbridge Herald on February 12, 2022.

Brian Hancock
Lethbridge Herald publisher

For a long time now we’ve had to read the lame duck “its mainstream media’s fault” excuse given on social media for everything from truck convoys to COVID to cold cheeseburgers to toilet paper hoarding. The Herald leans left, the Herald leans right, I wish the Herald would take a stand … at the end of the day we get as many complaints about being too left as we do about being too right … which tells me we are right in the middle and very happy to be there. 

There is no room for personal opinion in any news story:  we report what we see and hear, nothing more and nothing less. 

“There’s too much Shannon Phillips in the paper, you must lean left,” “there’s too many negative comments about Shannon, you lean right,” “not enough Nathan Neudorf,” “too much Rachael Thomas,” “not hard enough on Trudeau,” “too hard on Trudeau” … all these quotes are what we received in the past week … do you think maybe the bias is in the mind of the reader and not the writer?

It’s our job to report what is done and said, it’s yours to read and form your own opinions about what was done and said. By writing it in our paper we neither agree nor disagree with the subject, we simply report it. “You’re racist against XXX race,” “you take it easy on XXX race,” “why do you give free obits to XXX race?” – I wish I was joking when I tell you we get these type of disgusting emails and messages all the time. Racism trying to disguise itself as intelligence is rampant.  

Blaming the media has become the “in thing.” I watched a video from a colleague at a local TV station about a couple of guys who confronted a TV reporter in Ottawa about his coverage of the convoy. “You’re just fake news” is how it started. 

By the end of the interview the guys admitted they had never watched the reporter’s station or story. This is a prime example of brainwashed people making up stories to back up the opinion they want to have.

 Another reporter in Lethbridge summed it up beautifully by saying “fake news” is a term that really means ‘you should only tell our side of the story’. It can be a dangerous thing when people stop believing facts simply because they don’t fit their own narrative.

Are we perfect? No, but we try to get it right and own up to it when we don’t. Can you hold social media to the same standards? If you feel the Herald published something that is incorrect – and can provide documentation to support your view – we encourage you to send it to us for corroboration.

Mainstream media didn’t tell you to hoard toilet paper, social media did, but when mainstream media reports what’s happening, they get blamed.

Call in a bomb scare to your school based on a Tik-Tok challenge? Mainstream media reported it so it must be their fault. There are biased media out there; educate yourself and stay away from them and the social media algorithm that feeds you more of the same.

We attended the truck convoy and blockade, we asked to talk to people on location and were told “no one will talk to the Herald,” and then on social media the same people complain because we won’t print their side of the story. The offer still stands – if you won’t talk then we can’t print it. 

One of the same organizers of the convoy was protesting outside Ecole La Verendrye school a few days ago. We interviewed her and wrote what she said. There were no complaints from her but complaints from others that we sided with her – we did neither, we reported what was seen and said just like we are supposed to. It’s up to you to decide if you agree or not. It’s up to us to inform you.

The next time you hear “fake news” or “biased media” ask questions – questions like “what specifically are you talking about?,” “which story are you referring to?,” “what do you think was misrepresented?” or the question that they can’t answer: “What was fake about the story, or was it that you just don’t agree with the opinion expressed?” 

Our staff come to work every day trying to find out what’s happening and keep you informed. 

Don’t fake yourself out falling over unverified news from sources you’ve never heard of but suddenly rely on. We don’t print rumours, we print news, op-ed pages are clearly marked as opinions and you’re free to disagree and write in. There’s nothing fake about it.