The media should champion free speech

Michael Clifford underscores a disquieting trait of our media in ‘All views must be tolerated, even Catholic’ (May 7).

The media ought to be champions of free speech; instead, as he points out, ‘politicians who might be of a conservative bent are often reluctant to voice their views for fear of how it might be received in the media.’

And those politicians, it should be noted, represent the views of those who elected them.

That such a state of affairs should exist is not only worrying, it is bad for democracy.

Revd Patrick G Burke

Castlecomer

Co Kilkenny