Dear Editor,
In the Castro County News edition of Nov. 12, there was a headline naming Biden president-elect. The proclamation somewhat confused me. When I was a student at Dimmitt High School, I had a Civics teacher, Avis Smith, that to this day I still remember most of what she taught me and she was very good at her job; ask anyone who had a civics class under her guidance the same question. I believe I could still pass one of her tests today and they weren’t that easy to pass. One of the things I learned was the Electoral College convened after the national election and at the time, the electoral votes were tallied, and the president-elect was determined.
I understand how the Fourth Estate, though it is not formally recognized a part of the political system, tries to inform. It wields significant indirect and a bias ability to form public opinion on political issues. There is news and there is editorial. News gives the readers the information to consider oneself. Editorials, the write is trying to influence the reader to think the same.
The proclamation of Biden was at the time the presidentelect was premature and very much not news, but much more of an editorial of the writer’s thoughts. No where in our Constitution or laws does it say the news media determines the winner of our presidential election.
As I write this, it is still undetermined who the winner is. For you to proclaim the winner before the process is completed on the front page of a newspaper, whether a small local or large city or national paper or other media is both inaccurate and false.
Where have heard that term false news lately. It seems to be alive and well in Castro County.
Doug Hayes
Dimmitt, Texas