Letters to the Editor: Trump gamed the media since his ‘Apprentice’ days. How can the media atone?

To the editor: It may not be fair to single out Fox News as a reason to distrust the media and journalism. (“Trump’s election says a lot about trust in journalism,” Opinion, Nov. 12)

For too long, NBC has flown under the blame radar for creating the Frankenstein monster that is the story of Donald Trump. By manufacturing his image as a reality show star (what an oxymoron the term “reality show” is!), that corporate media organization laid the groundwork for the public to accept him and his lies and elect him president twice.

The recent apology to America in U.S. News and World Report by former NBC marketing executive John D. Miller for promoting Trump as the star of “The Apprentice” may assuage his guilt, but it fails to undo the damage we already have and will continue to suffer.

NBC should save its soul by airing objective specials reminding the public of the reality of Trump. It should also admit its own complicity in creating the conditions for him to rise to political power, before it’s too late.

Daniel Harrison, Chula Vista

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To the editor: No issue is more consequential and damaging to our democratic republic than our loss of trust in journalism.

As one American who ended my L.A. Times subscription many years ago due to its failure to separate the news from opinion, I am hopeful that eventual changes at this newspaper will cause me to want to renew my subscription.

I am not alone: Readers don’t need lecturing and persuasion masquerading as news. Actual news should reside in the news sections, reported by actual journalists; opinions should reside in the opinion section, penned by opinion leaders.

Joel L. Strom, Los Angeles