End Anonymous Editorials
4 May 2011
– by Mike Murray
Many Bereans are, no doubt, confused by conflicting content published in the News Sun. For weeks, they read about Cyril Kleem’s health problems, his absences from office, his hospital stay(s), his thoughts of suicide, his brushes with the law.
The News Sun’s reporting of bizarre circumstances surrounding Kleem culminated with an editorial, published on April 7th, 2011, that included this: “It’s getting harder to tell fact from fiction over at Berea City Hall, but one thing is becoming clear: the only person who can straighten this mess out — with its mysterious truck sightings, footprints in the snow, alleged break-ins reported by a third party, memory lapses and medical leaves — is Mayor Cyril Kleem.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to the primary election. The News Sun pivoted. On April 21st it published an editorial — this one by an editorial board (implied by the use of the term “we”) — in which it glowingly praised Kleem and endorsed him for reelection.
The April 21st editorial seems completely incongruent with the one published a scant two weeks earlier. The second editorial is also mystifying, given information that the News Sun had been presenting in straight news stories over an extended period of time.
Readers were left to wonder: Who wrote the April 21st News Sun editorial? Who, exactly, comprised the royal “we” responsible for the endorsement of Cyril Kleem?
It’s way past time for editorialists to step out of the shadows and into the light. Journalists demand “transparency” and “disclosure” from politicians; inasmuch as they help elect many of those same politicians, they owe it to their readers to practice what they preach.
Perhaps you agree with my opinions. Perhaps you don’t. But you never have to wonder who’s offering them. I don’t hide behind anonymity. Neither should editorial writers.
Copyright © 2011 Michael F. Murray — All rights reserved.
