Bad News is Good 

Editor:

Some of my fellow readers of this great publication have voiced their objections to your coverage of the darker side of life in Humboldt County ("Mailbox," Nov. 5).

We have problems in Humboldt County and if we are going to make this a better place, we have to acknowledge problems like homelessness, corruption and crime. Our media sources have a duty to bring these problems into the light.

The journalists here are doing this in a nation and at a time when journalists usually shy away from reporting real news. Others are afraid to ask the tough questions and to search for the truth.

We should commend them for having the professionalism and courage to cover the tough issues. We should as responsible citizens want our journalists to dig up the dirt and expose it. This is why I read the Journal and I am proud to live here in a place that has at least two publications that do not hide from real news stories.

The role of a journalist and the media is to provide us with information. We as responsible citizens should support that role and we should also fulfill our duty to act on that information. We count on the media to expose the truth, so that corrupt officials and criminals cannot hide from the light of day. That is how we protect our democracy.

This is a free publication, if you do not want real news and want to keep your blinders on it is your freedom of choice not to read.

When we put blinders on and do not demand real news, we do ourselves and our community a grave disservice. I want to thank the North Coast Journal and the Ferndale Enterprise for covering the tough issues and remaining faithful to the role of the media.

Todd Heiler, Eureka