If you sign it, you can say it

The irate writer of a letter to the editor last week complained about a columnist whose article appeared on the Commentary page: "Don't journalists have to be objective? When did journalists get permission to scream off on any person-damning personal opinion?"

The letter-writer highlighted a common misconception on the part of readers, which is that authors of pieces on the Commentary page must play by the same rules that govern the reporters who fill the news columns. They don't. So the answer to the first question is: No. The answer to the second: When the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Those who write signed columns, whether they come from a syndicate or the pen of a local reader, have the freedom to express their personal opinions, no matter how outrageous, so long as they stay within the bounds of libel and good taste. Indeed, we seek a diversified expression of opinions that are intended to stimulate, to provoke, and occasionally to infuriate our readers.

Richard Halloran

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