Letter to the Editor

Hayseed tabloid

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Editors,

After reading your series of "Lenten Lessons," I'm compelled to ask if you are running a newspaper or a proselytization vehicle. I guess old-school objective journalism is a thing of the past. This paper is begging to be treated as a hayseed tabloid rather than an attempt at honest journalism. Even the Rev. Moon's "Washington Times" is doing a better job hiding their obvious bias than you. Where is the history of the Lenten tradition or anything at all besides bullet-point rehashes of church sermons? As far as I know the Bible isn't today considered a factual source by journalists. There is no history of the church, an examination of its members or even quotes concerning worshippers' views on the sermon. T here are few facts at all. Do we find this here just because McCook lacks a sizable Buddhist or other non-Christian population? At what point will you be doing stories on the daily anxiety of agnostics and atheists? I suppose that since these groups haven't declared a month of unholiness or godlessness they just don't rate a story. No longer can we expect only the editorial page with its opinion and self-help columns to be the land of personal expression and religious doctrine. Now we get to see it on the front page in the costumery of a news report. So a challenge: Are you willing to give us an explanatory mission statement that honestly reflects the paper you've been serving up?

Daniel Bonar

via e-mail

EDITOR'S NOTE -- The Lenten Lessons series is a community-wide event open to people of all faiths. We are privileged to be able to cover them.

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