Many conservatives of my acquaintance take exception to The Columbian’s leftist rendering of the news. Idealistically, they posit for balanced reporting, ignoring the fact that virtually from the Republic’s founding, major newspapers have allowed their editorial positions to “bleed” into their reporting.
Thomas Jefferson, the man who would become the nation’s third president, paid another to publish slander about our second sitting president, John Adams. During President Lincoln’s time, all leading news media, in search of a reader clientele, were partisan. What remains galling, however, is The Columbian’s regular insistence that it is a reliable example of professional journalism. That is a singular example of perfect hypocrisy.
Thomas R. Higdon
Vancouver
