The Pantagraph is one of more than 300 newspapers across the United States taking part in a coordinated response to President Donald Trump's repeated attacks against the media.
The paper's editorial board wrote in Thursday's edition, "The media is not the enemy of the people."
“We just felt it was important to make it clear what we are doing every day, what (WGLT is) doing every day and what other local media are doing every day is not directly linked to what’s all going on in the craziness of Washington, D.C.,” Pantagraph Editor Mark Pickering said.
Pickering admitted he’s not sure the editorial will change anyone's mind, because he said many of the president's supporters have already made up their mind.
“They are going to support him regardless of what he says about anything,” Pickering said. “There’s others who don’t support him and find what he does objectionable.”
The editorial said the president's frequent attacks “cause irreparable harm to a free, independent press.”
It tries to draw a distinction between national and local media, saying its reporters “profile the people who live here,” and are "a lot like our readers.”
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