First, I want to make it clear that this letter has been sent May 7, two days before the provincial election, and is inspired entirely because of The Morning Star’s choice of what to print and when.
I can also state that I am an active supporter of Barry Dorval, our NDP candidate. This letter has nothing to do with the outcome of the May 9 election.
I have become used to the somewhat conservative tone of our community paper, with occasional diatribes from right-wing columnists such as Tom Fletcher, and of course its affiliation with Black Press.
However, I thought that up until now, we could count on The Morning Star to at least give the appearance of unbiased coverage of political campaigns. Sunday’s edition has thrown that perception right out the window.
It is bad enough that you have allowed Eric Foster and the well-funded B.C. Liberals to purchase an ad that covered the entire first two pages of the final edition before the election. It seems to me that if you have any interest in unbiased coverage, your editorial policy would not have allowed first-page coverage to one party, no matter how well-funded. Do the editors feel any responsibility, or is this just about money?
In my view, an even worse negation of any claim this paper may have had of unbiased coverage appears in the letters page.
There, The Morning Star has chosen to print two letters, one supportive and one negative towards Mr. Dorval and the NDP. But which one was placed next to Mr. Dorval’s photo, accompanied by the headline “Concerns exist about the NDP”? It was a stupid, exaggerated attack on Mr. Dorval, including accusations of Barry’s “narrow self-interest” in having once been the president of our local teacher’s association and a supporter of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.
Of course, when I read the author’s name, I was not surprised. I have read several previous offerings by John Trainor, and as before, would encourage him to be careful about the use of words like “Marxism,” just as I learned long ago to not accuse someone of being a “fascist,” just because a conservative opinion was expressed. Mr. Trainor is entitled to his ill-informed opinions, and he will probably continue to express them.
My complaint here is with a newspaper which has presented a very one-sided view of this election, in its final edition before election day, a stunt worthy of Fox News. I believe our citizens deserve better, no matter what editorial policy or ad revenues dictate.
Mervin Prier
Vernon