Consider the cost of NOT having local investigative journalism | Letters
I just received the bill to renew my subscription to The Beaufort Gazette. Yikes! I immediately decided not to renew based on the much smaller size of the publication, and I am now receiving it six days per week, down from seven. I simply don’t like reading the paper online, plus we don’t get the ads and coupons in that format. The price was simply too high for what I was getting.
After calming down a bit, and having a glass of wine, I began to evaluate what I got from the Gazette and what, if anything, I would miss. I determined there were lots of options available to me for national news, but few, if any, for what is happening around me on a daily basis. How would I know what was happening at USCB? When and where are the many festivals? What time does the parade start? What restaurant specials are being offered? What new businesses are in town? The Beaufort quality of life is why I am here, but how would I know what’s going on?
Equally, if not more importantly, how would I know about the less warm-and-fuzzy scenarios going on around me? Would we still have the same school board members and superintendent if not for local reporting? Would we still have the same ethically-challenged Speaker of the South Carolina House? How about a County Council member who didn’t even live in the state, much less the county? How many more of our tax dollars would be poured down the nuclear plant fiasco if not for local investigative journalism?
I put down my glass, realized that the price of that wine was approximately the same as a week’s subscription to the Gazette, and wrote the check for another year of service. The cost of not doing so was just too high.
Susan Dickson
St. Helena Island
We’re witnessing a coup by Democrats
I find it amusing that a recent letter writer is upset that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham apparently has prejudged the impeachment inquiry before all the “evidence” has come in. That’s because Graham knows that what is being conducted is a kangaroo court.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, started by saying he wanted to speak to the whistleblower. Then when it was learned that his staff did indeed speak to the whistleblower, he now doesn’t want to have him called as a witness.
Apparently, this individual has no firsthand information, but only information from White House leakers. How can one qualify as a whistleblower with only hearsay information? Now we have learned that the lawyer for this individual was talking about a coup in 2017 and said that “we will get rid of Trump.”
For weeks, Schiff conducted secret interviews, while preventing Republicans from freely participating. Then selective bits of those interviews are leaked. Maybe Schiff should be looking into Hunter and Joe Biden and why Joe Biden held back a billion dollars from Ukraine.
It was so disappointing for Democrats when the Russia investigation turned out to be a dud as did Mueller’s testimony. If the writer is concerned about Graham prejudging, he should be furious with the Democrats who have made their judgment crystal clear. They are sure Trump has committed a campaign finance violation. The usual punishment for such a violation is a fine, not the death penalty.
Richard Courreges
Callawassie Island
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This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Consider the cost of NOT having local investigative journalism | Letters."