News: Good reporting counters party claims

Re: “GOP would give less to schools,” (TNT, 4/2).

I appreciate reporter Melissa Santos’ detailed analysis of the state Senate Republican education plan. This kind of investigative reporting is urgently needed for the public to evaluate what policies to support.

In this environment of blatant prevarications, it’s difficult to determine what policies are best for ourselves and our communities. Here Republicans claim their bill would put $1.8 billion into K-12 schools, but it would actually increase school funding only an estimated $871 million.

Nationally, Republicans claimed their health care bill would serve the public better than the Affordable Care Act when, as the Congressional Budget Office revealed, it would actually cut care for millions and give tax breaks to the wealthy.

Journalists must go beyond the “Republicans said - Democrats said” type of journalism and present the real consequences of proposed actions. Only when the public has information that unveils false claims can we clearly determine what and whom to support.

Both parties use public relations at times, but the GOP gets the prize for consistently making policies appear to be for the public good when they actually support the wealthy and corporations. More than ever, the public needs news media with integrity to investigate underlying truths.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "News: Good reporting counters party claims."