Don't accept media's unfair slant
Jun. 7, 2008 12:00 AM

The media on the state and national level have been harping on bringing more civility to politics while doing the exact opposite.

Locally, the attacks and unfair treatment of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas from the media have been tough to watch and read. The media appear to be on some type of vendetta.

You may not agree with their positions and that is fine, but keep that out of the story.

There are many examples, but to name one, the recent coverage of the lawsuits paid by the sheriff was nothing short of biased, or it was just lazy reporting.

Was the story true that his office paid out millions in lawsuits? Yes. Did the story paint a true picture? No.



The media have given the public the impression that this is an issue solely at the feet of the sheriff. You will find that overall payments paid by all taxpayers, from state, local and school districts far exceed the payment Arpaio's office paid.

The public deserves an accurate picture of what is occurring and not a slam on one office.

There is an industry of attorneys whose sole purpose is to take money from taxpayers that would go to kids' programs, after-school programs, school lunches, roads, and police and fire. That is the story.

On the national level, and as a conservative, this is hard to write, but the slamming of Hillary Clinton has become offensive and destructive to the debate of policy.

This constant harping on anything she says and the media's demanding she get out of the race is mind-boggling.

Anyone who has ever succeeded in life knows that you never give up until the game is over. There is only one end result when you get out of a race: You lose.

Persistence is a positive attribute, and yet the media makes it a negative.

We teach our children to work hard and to finish what they start, but we tell someone who worked her way to the top that she should give up. Clinton is doing exactly what we are told to do in life.

Sen. Clinton is an easy person not to like, but once again, it is not the role of the media to push that personal feeling into our homes.

As a public, all we need are the facts; we can figure out the rest. - Sal DiCiccio,Phoenix
The writer is a former Phoenix City Council member.


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