STATESMAN SOAPBOX: The whole truth, nothing but the truth – but not always

There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding. I’m not entirely sure people know the difference between a column and an article. This is not anyone’s fault, but a clarification here will probably help everyone out. Maybe when reading The Statesman from now on, people will be a little more understanding about what they’re reading.

An article is supposed to be an unbiased piece of reporting that lets people know about a particular topic, issue or event. This is what most people would call real journalism. Objectivity is the watchword of an article and it should attempt to fully address any issue or event.

Columns are opinion – pure and simple. They have no obligation to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They are the opinion of one person – the columnist. That means the columnist does not represent the opinion of The Statesman or of any particular group to which they belong. The only section of the paper representing the views of the editorial staff is the Our View opinion piece.

To those who may be upset at me for saying columns don’t have to tell the whole truth, please keep reading. It is an opinion piece. Therefore if it’s a humor column, the columnist has complete liberty to put in or leave out whatever they want about a situation, to make the column humorous. If it’s a serious column, the columnist has a right to express an opinion, no matter how offensive it is, badly thought out or how much the rest of The Statesman staff may disagree with that opinion. Because it is the view of one person, that person does not have to talk about every facet of an issue.

Columnists for the paper have received rude comments and e-mails about the opinions they express. That’s fine. Those who write in comments and letters to the editor have just as much a right to express their opinion as the columnist. But when those writing in begin to blame all Statesman staff for one opinion or impugn the columnist’s journalistic integrity, there is a mistake being made.

That one opinion does not represent all of us. In fact in may only represent the columnist. And when a journalist writes a column, their objectivity is not a player. A column is by definition biased.

So please, when you read the paper, go ahead, agree or disagree with the columns or particular parts of the articles. Just remember what you’re reading and what it’s trying to say.