Louisville Courier-Journal

The Courier-Journal, the largest newspaper in Kentucky and a longtime advocate of leftward politics, in a generally conservative state, is seeking to replace its longtime conservative editorial columnist after he quit when its editor spiked a column he turned in. The reason I bring this up is because of what was in his column that caused the editor to spike it: transparency in Courier-Journal editorial writers. Because I don’t want this site to be a right/left, I’m linking to a story of the editor’s response.

Of course, the First Amendment guarantees the editor can do as she pleases. It appears the column made one request that was a bridge too far: Disclose Editors’ and Reporters’ Politics! The columnist includes this within context of bringing more balance to the opinion pages. It’s curious in the response that the editor said his column was worthy of being spiked because they already have enough conservative voices. What’s unsaid is the other request to bring transparency to the reporters and editorialists politics. There’s no requirement to do so in this country, but we will provide examples of where they appear to be, courtesy of readers.

The Courier-Journal is a Gannett newspaper property.