To the editor:

Thank you for publishing Edward Wasserman’s essay “Murder by media: the Dean scream,” Feb. 23. As someone who was in the Val Air Ballroom, standing less than 20 feet away from Gov. Dean when the alleged incident occurred, I am often frustrated by the blank stares I get when I tell people who’ve heard the story what actually occurred that night. Apparently, believing the lie is much more entertaining than hearing the truth.

Wasserman stated, and I will repeat here: “The notion that great footage would be not shown just because it’s profoundly misleading — that’s a possibility few TV news executives would entertain. That’s why they’re not eager to see the Dean scream enter the canon of journalistic sin. And if that leaves Howard Dean’s political future hobbled by a lie, so be it.”

Perhaps it’s time to examine what passes for moral values in the supposedly left-leaning media. I’m not holding my breath, and neither is Howard Dean, I’ll wager.

Lauren Sullivan,

Lawrence