Shannon Blosser sent me this blog posting by DTH editor Chris Coletta in August. A few snippets:
… here’s the thing — at the DTH, our columnists speak for themselves. Not the DTH; not even anyone else on the DTH opinion staff. Themselves. It might be ridiculous; it might be offensive. But as long as it’s not libelous or inaccurate, we’ll run it.
Now, I’ll make suggestions. I’ll say, “Hey, you should probably add this or say this.” But I won’t tell the writers what to do. I do that with the editorial board members; they represent the entire board, and I’m in charge of that board. Not the columnists, though. I’m just here to clean things up a bit after they write….
Because in a newspaper — a public forum based on dialogue — it’s not my job (or my right) to stifle anyone’s opinion. Not hers, and not yours.
Jillian will run her next column Tuesday. And I’m looking forward to it. She’s a good writer; she’s acerbic; hell, she’s fearless.