Local Columnist (liberal) asked to stop writing about national views

[SharonAnn]

A favorite writer in our local paper (Knoxville) is asked to stop writing about national views (anti-war, anti-Bush)

Looking ahead to a change in direction
By DON WILLIAMS

February 4, 2005

Don't look here for an opinion about the State of the Union address. Why? I could answer, like many another progressive, that I've decided to turn away from our so-called commander-in-chief and that, when I hear his pieties and false prophecies, they send me right over the edge.

But that wouldn't be the whole story, and you would know it intuitively, so I'll level with you. The biggest reason I turned away from this subject is because the editor of the News-Sentinel has requested that I write more local, statewide and human interest pieces and less about national affairs.

I've agreed to go along with his request. It would be a copout to say I had no choice. A writer always has a choice, and I like to think of myself as a stoic. I believe in doing the right thing -- in this case telling it like I see it -- even when the price is steep.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/news/article/0,1406,KNS_345_3521834,00.html

[imenja]

1. freedom of the press requires courage

when publishers lack that courage, we all lose.

[mikehiggins]

2. What a hoot

Actually, it would be better if more "liberal" commentators did write more about local topics, and perhaps only in passing relate them to things such as the BUSHDEFICIT.

Articles about how hard locals are finding it to survive with local and state cuts in spending, etc., etc.

Lots of people's eyes glaze over when we start talking about Iraq and SocSec "Reform" and all that. If we concentrate instead on how liberal progressive thought and policies can effect them right there at home it might serve our cause well.

The cons did it, and it seems to have worked.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. Same thing happened to me

[Robbien]

4. Are you able to write about local activities from a non-conservative

viewpoint? Were non-liberal writers able to continue writing about national issues?

[BigMcLargehuge]

6. I ended up handing in my resignation

rather than be forced to cover the excitement of city hall from a neutral viewpoint.

[Clark2008]

5. Um, Don is fine with this.

It's really not a big deal.
Don is a friend of mine and he still plans to write about national issues about once a month - or any time he feels like it.
He plans to start taking a look at TennCare and the local neo-con party and such.
Seriously, it's OK. He'll still do stories about how Social Security Piratization will f*ck up Southerners and stuff.

:)

[KharmaTrain]

7. Paying The Dues

I can relate to this very well...I worked in small and medium market radio in very Repugnican areas. In the best of times you could sneak an opinion here or there, but the unwritten rule was everyone kept their politics to themselves. Most of these communities had either non-partisan or manager forms of government so the local politics was detached from the state or national ones...thus you could argue about the need for a new school or which school had the better football team.

Hopefully this Mr. Williams is working hard to move up "ladder"; especially in a management sense...working from within to one day be in a position where no one tells him what he can or can't write. It's a shame he's with a paper that can't be more open, but media owners don't like to rock the boat too much.

[karlrschneider]

8. I got a nice reply to an email I sent him the other day, he said any sup-

port to the editors for his right to publish his opinions would be
appreciated. [e-mail]