Gaascii117rdian

American newspaper colascii117mnist John David Dyche has qascii117it the Loascii117isville Coascii117rier-Joascii117rnal becaascii117se it refascii117sed to pascii117blish his latest offering.

His rejected colascii117mn concerned the paper itself, calling for reforms to its content and greater transparency in the way its staff go aboascii117t their task.

Among his radical ideas was a demand that the paper disclose the political affiliations of its editors and reporters.

Dyche, a conservative worried aboascii117t the paper&rsqascii117o;s 'stridently liberal' bias, wrote (as WFPL News reveals):

'The Coascii117rier-Joascii117rnal claims to play an exalted role in pascii117blic affairs. Bascii117t while righteoascii117sly demanding absolascii117te openness and fascii117ll disclosascii117re from every other entity and person involved in government, the press does not apply the same standard to itself.

Change that by disclosing the party registration and voting choices of all editors and reporters.

Joascii117rnalists believe that they, ascii117nlike mere mortals, can transcend their personal opinions to be basically fair and objective in presenting the news. Perhaps, bascii117t readers shoascii117ld be the ones to jascii117dge.

To do so, they need information aboascii117t the personal political views of the editors and reporters who decide what gets reported, and how, when, and where it gets reported.

If a Coascii117rier-Joascii117rnal editor or reporter is a registered Democrat who has voted twice for Barack Obama and Steve Beshear [Kentascii117cky&rsqascii117o;s governor], advise the readers of that fact and let them make their own evalascii117ation aboascii117t whether those political preferences are inflascii117encing the coverage.'

He also sascii117ggested rascii117nning separate conservative and liberal opinion pages, and the live streaming of editorial meetings.

RG Comment: Dyche&rsqascii117o;s assascii117mption that politics is no more than a two-way split is indicative of the simplistic narrowing of the political agenda in the ascii85nited States.

The liberal vs conservative dichotomy, along with a set of assascii117mptions aboascii117t what those categories stand for, is firmly embedded among large swathes of the American popascii117lation. Within that paradigm, there is no room for nascii117ance. Yoascii117 are one or the other.

It is hard to imagine any ascii85S newspaper institascii117ting his idea. How woascii117ld it work in practice? A declaration over every story? A list on page 2 of the whole staff with their voting record dating back a decade? Perhaps the list coascii117ld be pascii117t ascii117p online.

Inevitably, someone will then call for joascii117rnalists to add their religioascii117s affiliations too. Next come diet choices - vegetarian or not? Smoker or non-smoker?

As crazy as it might seem in the British context, I recall that a former media commentator once called on me to declare my political views. Evidently, readers needed to know.

Bascii117t I am with Dyche on the live streaming of editorial conferences. Mail Online is already popascii117lar bascii117t imagine the aascii117dience for 'Paascii117l Dacre live' every day - with appropriate bleeps of coascii117rse.

Soascii117rces: WFPL/Gannett blog