The article “Pro-Trump commentary tunes out critics” (Page B1, July 30) did a good job of explaining how one of our oldest and most beloved local TV news outlets, and its respected journalists, have been taken over by a big out-of-state business to promote its political agenda.

One of the most important parts of the article was the first three paragraphs, where a local viewer expressed shock at one recent taped commentary, as if this were the first that had gotten his attention. Important because it shows how insidious this is, that it’s the perfect ploy, taking advantage of our trust of our local reporters in hopes that we’ll take the politically biased parts of the show as if they are unbiased news.

I’ve been privately complaining about this for years. First it was the objectionable conservative commentaries by national corporate spokesperson Mark Hyman, whose good looks, conservative gray suit and calm demeanor make him look like a newsperson. Later came the “On Your Side” slogan and stories, which is a slant that no unbiased news station should be comfortable with. The recent addition of the Terrorism Alert Desk is part of the nationwide effort to keep us afraid of each other. The addition of Boris Epshteyn’s commentaries is only the latest move toward feeding us political bias along with our evening news.

My concern is not whether the political slant is conservative or liberal, but that there is a slant at all, and that it’s being cloaked in the respectability and trust of real news.

The local reporters on WGME are as fine as any in Maine, or anywhere. The article seems to treat them fairly. We understand the difficult position they’re in. We viewers and readers need to pay more attention these days, as large corporations grab up media outlets of all kinds with the clear purpose of controlling what we see, hear, and think.

David H. Brown

Raymond