Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
After reading Taylor Barkley’s “Americans trust Amazon more than the federal government” column in the Sept. 29 edition of the BDN, I was reminded about the disservice that I think the BDN and other news outlets do to their readers/viewers/listeners. An important part of assessing the information in any newspaper (or other media) is to know what the perspective of the writer/reporter is. Whether the source is conservative, progressive, reliably unbiased, informed, or uninformed, it influences the information significantly.
At the end of Barkley’s piece, he is acknowledged as “…technology and innovation director at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.” By itself, those credentials might suggest to the reader that this is an unbiased assessment of an important issue. That is hardly the case.
According to sourcewatch.org, “The Center for Growth and Opportunity (CGO) at Utah State University is a Koch-funded right-wing … academic center.” It further says that the “CGO is an associate member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a group of right-wing think tanks …” Influencewatch.org reports that the “CGO was established in 2017 through a joint donation to the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business from the Charles Koch Foundation and the Huntsman Foundation.” Those connections give the reader insight regarding the content of the opinion piece. That allows for an informed reading and understanding. It’s rather like “truth in advertising.”
If a news outlet wants to create a believable reputation, acknowledging the source of its content is essential. Otherwise, they perpetuate the illusions that create the divisive opinions and conspiracy theories of its readers/viewers/listeners.
Dana Williams
Belfast
