Dear Editor,
It goes without saying that true freedom of expression can only be had by who owns a newspaper/publication. I am not defending a vulgar free for all, no! I am speaking from the standpoint of all things being equal. One can talk cheese; for all the tea in China that wouldn’t change, who owns a paper controls and has the final say. Thus they can do as they please, write what they feel and think; twist situations to suit themselves, push the slant when it’s convenient and even indulge in the ridiculous when they feel the need to in the most brazen way and have the temerity to defend it. Outsiders are limited and subject to the prerogative of the owner. All the excessive pretence about free expression are more talks than actuality, one is only allowed so far and no more, at the end of the day you are kept in line.
Editors protect friends, influential high profile personalities, friendly corporations and big business; and being only human cannot always completely avoid the subjective, thus some become easily hyper-sensitive when point of views are diametrically opposite to what they believe and stand for and is seen as a line of attack. It cannot be off line in saying that quite a number of editors are often seized by a fit of paranoia when radical views surface challenging their fixation and encroaching upon their sacred beliefs and practices.
Editor, some editors definitely stretch their prerogative too far – beyond their boundary – stripping articles bone dry as dust, smart and lively expressions are tossed out as irrelevant and unnecessary, not to mention those that are confined to the trash bin without a second thought, even when they know what you’re saying make sense, only because it gnaws their conscience and makes them uncomfortable.
Editing no doubt is a sine qua non for any publication period, no publication could last without it, and it ought to enhance the quality of the writer’s material so that the message reaches its destination and connects with sparkling clarity. Stripping articles thread bare to basic; deleting all that doesn’t fit in with the stereotype rendering it flat and dry, listless and dull! can never always be the best thing, but distasteful as this is, the contributor has no other choice other than to cease making submission or live with it.
Editor, I once came across a Mutt & Jeff comic strip in which the reporter handed over his report to his editor who became furious after reading it and berated him for unnecessary ramblings, “facts, facts, I want facts, the bare essentials and make it brief” he shouted as he flung the report back to him. The reporter rewrote the story and handed it to him, it read: “J. Smith looked up the shaft of the Wallaby Hotel to see if the elevator was coming down. It was! Age 45. That’s essentials for you folks.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
