The note in the illustration came into the newsroom affixed to Page 13 of the May 3 edition of the Regional Optimist.
The page featured sports reporter Lucas Punkari’s coverage of the Kinsmen indoor rodeo hosted at the Civic Centre at the end of April. The featured photo was of a bull and rider.
For starters, the commentary is anonymous. There is a name printed on the sticky note and a certain federal government department is identified, but we have no way of knowing if the individual making the comment is that person, so anonymity is point number one.
If you feel that strongly about an issue, why not identify yourself? We welcome all points of view, but if you’re not willing to be identified, credibility is seriously diminished.
The disclaimer often printed on this page says “all letters must be signed.” Credibility is the reason behind that requirement.
The disclaimer also notes that personal attacks will not be published. I’m breaking that rule slightly here. In this case the attack is misplaced.
The reporter and newspaper were the note writer’s first targets. I might venture so far as to say only, since this individual might have trouble slipping an anonymous sticky note to the rodeo’s organizers, or to the company providing the rodeo stock.
No, the community newspaper is the obvious entity to attack, because of our visibility and accessibility.
So, did we actually do anything wrong?
As a community newspaper our job is to reflect the culture, events and activities of the communities we serve. We take the responsibility seriously and for us to ignore an event so ingrained in the community’s tradition and history as the Kinsmen rodeo, would be nothing other than gross negligence.
That said, there is also room in the newspaper for a debate on animal rights. Having grown up in cowboy country ,and harbouring a fondness for the whole cowboy mystique, I’d probably be a hard sell for the anti-rodeo message. But if the viewpoint was thoughtfully presented and signed, I’d be more than happy to give it a prominent space on the op-ed page.
