Endorsement flap

Today is local election day, and I see there are a number of people upset with the endorsement the editorial board of the Citizen made, as well as the endorsement Bruce Strachan made in his column.

It seems to me a lot of people don't understand that editorials and columns are not supposed to be objective, and are absolutely meant to be biased.

I've been responding to some articles on the Citizen today. First, someone didn't like Bruce Strachan's endorsement because he didn't think a columnist should be biased.

My comment:

Columnist are paid to have an opinion and to support their bias

"Shouldn't the columnists for The Citizen be unbiased"

The very definition of columnist is one with an opinion, and one who is biased a certain way.

From Wikipedia:

"A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating copy that can sometimes be strongly opinionated."

The Citizen's job, then, is to have a portfolio of columnists that express different biases and opinions, and to a large extent, I think they are successful.

Journalists, however, should try to report with as little bias as possible. But that's not what your complaint is about.

Columnists that aren't strongly biased are not worth reading. We read them to watch them build their case to support their bias.

So, good work Mr. Strachan.

Second, someone took issue with the Citizen editorial board for their endorsements yesterday.

My comment:

Please separate opinion from journalism

Editorials and columns are meant to express an opinion, to craft an argument to support a particular bias.

We read them, share them, get mad at them, defend them for the very reason that they are inherently biased.

And that's a good thing.

Also, editorials and columns are purposely separated out from the "news," and clearly marked - that way you know it's biased before you even start reading it.

I for one applaud the Citizen for displaying a backbone and hope to see more of it in the future. I'm glad they made a thoughtful argument for each candidate they endorsed (whether I agree with their conclusion or not).

Frankly, they did a tremendous service to their readership, not because of actual endorsement, but in the THINKING PROCESS they outlined in coming to their decision.

They did not endorse based on who is the most famous, which is the standard procedure for most voters in this city, but based it on rational criteria, contrasting strengths and weaknesses.

I truly hope the electorate learned from the Citizen - not who to vote for, but how to think about voting.

_____

From Wikipedia:

"Editorials are generally printed either on their own page of a newspaper or in a clearly marked-off column, and are always labeled as editorials (to avoid confusion with news coverage). They often address current events or public controversies. Generally, editorials fall into four broad types: news, policy, social, and special. When covering controversial topics such as election issues, some opinion page editors will run "dueling" editorials, with each staking out a respective side of the issue."

"A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating copy that can sometimes be strongly opinionated."

Hopefully people will figure it out. Regardless, please go out and vote for the candidate(s) of your choice.