PD Defender in Chief

Reader Representative versus the Current Editor Representative

Did you read the Ted Diadiun column on Sunday December 2? (Don't bother trying to find it on the web--they place it in a secret location at cleveland.com) I read his defense of a stupid cartoon that was highly offensive, and tried to remember one time that he criticized his own paper. I can only think of one time that the someone in the paper criticized the coverage in the Plain Dealer--and I was not even sure if it was Diadiun. It was that front page photo of the suicide from Carter Manor that generated a great deal of internal criticism and public apologies. I do not believe that Diadiun could ever be considered my representative as a reader. He is the Defender of the Editors. Why not just admit it? With the stupid cartoon, he could have suggested an editor's note about how stupid it was and how the editors realized that it could be controversial. He just dismissed the readers who felt offended. If I dismissed some of my constituency when representing NEOCH at meetings, I would be fired. Hey, Ted, represent all of us, and stop dismissing our opinions. We all have important opinions and the Reader Rep. needs to sit at that table and speak up for those who were offended.

Brian