Herald, other newspapers provide vital coverage of news

Regarding a recent letter to the editor regarding the writer’s Herald subscription renewal, the decline in newspaper subscriptions across the country is cause for concern but not for ceasing to subscribe. The recent event at the White House celebrating the vital role of a free press underscores the challenge in keeping newspapers healthy.

I have found several important investigative reports in The Herald to be just that, stories that prove vital by bringing to public view issues and events that otherwise would be hidden. The letter writer is, in part, wrong about the matter of bias. I read The Herald for local news but also for reports from the Associated Press. The long, honorable history of the AP is earned by unbiased, objective reporting of the news going back to the Civil War. In fact, it is one of the few places to find valuable, unbiased, factual reporting.

However, I believe I can put myself in the author’s shoes. Here’s why: While enjoying the sun for a couple of months in Yuma, Ariz., every winter, I subscribe to the Yuma Sun daily newspaper. It is very much like The Herald in size, style and scope. However, a number of editorials and the letters to the editor are a steady flow of very angry missives about just the opposite to those objected by the letter writer. In fact, nearly every guest editorial is a conspiracy, spin-doctor line of talking points that are not only often illogical but filled with downright untruthful assertions.

Fair enough, for, after all, Yuma is Trump territory. Yet, I subscribe and read daily the Sun because it contains some excellent reporting on vital local issues and a nice salad bar of AP news. But also, for another reason: I support newspapers wherever I am because the press is vital for the survival of our democracy. In fact, recently we responded to an appeal from The Herald to make a financial contribution to a movement for independent journalism, and we did so with pleasure.

C.M. Kempton Hewitt

Edmonds