The details are hazy in the cartoon that I recall, but it depicts a couple sitting at a table with no other distractions. Some major sporting season has just finished and they are enjoying a lull in their busy lives.
“Oh goody,” says the woman, as a look of horror dawns on the man’s face. “Now we can talk about our relationship.”
And now that you’ve been lured this far, here’s some talk about relationships; those between this newspaper and its columnists.
Every week we publish material from at least 10 columnists. They’ve all proven their worth to our readers through their particular expertise or well-researched opinions or humour – sometimes all three.
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It’s a good working relationship and a businesslike one. Our columnists file, their work is edited and they get paid.
Through presentation and attribution, we clearly indicate which material is opinion and which is news content.
The columnists aren’t our employees and their opinions don’t necessarily represent those of the newspaper. The latter would be impossible, since we publish diverse and often opposing views.
Why explain the obvious about the newspaper-columnist relationship?
Because a columnist, Wendy Holm, was at a rally last week where she took an active part in the proceedings. But then we learned, to our surprise and consternation, that many people thought Holm was a Producer reporter. She later identified her connection to the Producer when asking a question at a press conference.
Since Holm had clearly chosen a side in the debate, people questioned this newspaper’s credibility. In our view, the problem was caused by a misrepresentation about the columnist-newspaper relationship. That prompted us to cancel Holm’s column. We cannot risk being seen as biased in covering such an important story.
It is not a matter of censorship but rather one of credibility. The views that Holm embraces will get fair airing in the Producer, as always. Controversy surrounding the wheat board is not over and there will be plenty of opportunities to publish opinions. In the meantime, we’ll continue to handle the news with a fair and balanced approach.
On another matter of housekeeping, the Producer once again has bragging rights to a few awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association.
Photojournalist Michael Raine won three honourable mentions in the 2005-06 contest, for portrait/personality, pictorial and photo essay.
Saskatoon reporter Sean Pratt won third place in the personality profile category.
We’ll spare you the discussion, for now, on the reporter-interviewee relationship.
You’re welcome.
