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My office phone has been ringing a lot lately.
In past weeks, I've seen a trend in the calls from readers taking on an accusatory tone that we, like all mainstream media, must be in cahoots to keep Donald Trump out of office. These folks really believe that we journalists have created a global conspiracy. The anger directed at some media organizations has grown, particularly at some Trump rallies.
In Cincinnati, for example, a crowd at a Trump rally met reporters with sustained boos, curses and chants of "Tell the truth, tell the truth."
That was after Trump had been telling them that the news media was trying to "poison the minds" of voters with "lies, lies, lies." He called it a "conspiracy against you, the American people" that also includes "global financial interests."
That may be a bit far-fetched, but it's apparent to me that Donald Trump really believes he is being unfairly targeted by the media. Frankly, he probably has a point if you're looking at coverage by the CNNs and MSNBCs of the world.
Of course, the argument could also be made that the FOX news stations of the world are heavily targeting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the same sort of biased reporting.
But here at the Tribune Chronicle, I have been reminding my staff daily that,in this election in particular, we must be fair in our coverage and presentation of the news. We've been trying hard to keep a national election story on the front page every day. We spend time reviewing the national election stories that move on the Associated Press wire, and we are making a conscious attempt to alternate which of these two major-party candidates land in the most prominent position.
Like most newspapers, the Tribune Chronicle's newsroom operates independently from our editorial page. Coverage should never be influenced by the items that appear on our opinion page. Only that page is dictated by the editorial board.
Still, Trump's comments seem to resonating with a significant part of the American electorate. In fact, a recent Gallup poll reported that Americans' trust in the news media last month hit an all-time low.
That is concerning because in America, the press always should be viewed as the checks and balances of government.
Referred to routinely as the Fourth Estate -- a fourth branch of government -- the media is as equally important to a functioning democracy as the three other arms because of the checks and balances it provides. Our forefathers so understood the critical importance of the role a free press would play in our democracy that they were sure to enlist it as No. 1 in the Bill of Rights.
But Trump's continued insistence that the media is not playing fairly implies that we in the press were somehow involved in the establishment's attempts to keep him from winning the Republican nomination and now to keep him out of the Oval Office.
Further, faith in the media is just as important as faith in the democratic election system.
That election system, similarly, is what makes America the envy of countries around the world.
Of course, nothing should go unchallenged, and any candidate has the right to question the system and ensure its accuracy.
But Trump's consistent and unjustified public skepticism is shaking America's belief that this system is working the way it should.
Win or lose Nov. 8, Donald Trump has planted a seed among Americans that isn't going to disappear anytime soon.
From where I sit, it will be important for the Tribune Chronicle and all media to go out of our way to prove to our readers that we are fair and balanced via sustained attempts to impugn any false and misleading political-style attacks that, I'll admit, at times can be mixed with valid criticisms.
blinert@tribtoday.com