Let’s clarify what Cal Thomas willfully muddied in his recent column, “The Acela media and liberal slant.”

After quoting criticism of the president aired on MSNBC and in the New York Times, Thomas appears to write off newspapers and broadcast news organizations as a whole.

Thousands of newspapers across America devote their stretched news staffs to covering local news — matters that will never register with the New York Times, MSNBC or any other media outside our area. The Salisbury Post and other newspapers provide our communities a lifeline of information we cannot find anywhere else, news about the pandemic, schools, local government, charities and more.

While Thomas devotes most of his column to “major media,” his final paragraph refers to “the decline of newspaper circulation and broadcast news ratings” in general. He slaps them all by suggesting that these papers and programs are not worth our time or money.

The columnist does a disservice to the very businesses that pay for his syndicated column.

The real disservice, though, is to readers who accept Thomas’ opinions as fact. Expressing distrust of major news organizations is one thing. Smearing all news media in the process is lazy and deceptive. Thomas implies they are one and the same. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Please take Cal Thomas’ words with a large grain of salt — along with the opinions aired on MSNBC, The New York Times, PBS, Fox News and everywhere else.

And keep reading the Salisbury Post in print and online. It is well worth your time and money. Now more than ever, the paper needs your support.

— Elizabeth Cook

Salisbury