Letter to the editor: When your newspaper reported the (admittedly extraordinary) claim by Mr. Hanlon that he saw an alien spaceship, the tone of your article was very skeptical despite the fact that Hanlon has over the years proved to be a trusted member of the community. If Hanlon claimed to have observed a rare natural phenomenon like a large meteor, your article would not have been skeptical. So your newspaper exhibits an unjustified bias.
The argument in the letter conflicts with the principle that if a media outlet has trusted a source in the past and the source has a good reputation, the outlet should continue to trust that source.