LETTER: The value of Clarence Page

The North State Journal | Madeline Gray

I am a recent subscriber, and your newspaper is under evaluation as a supplier of factual non-biased information, particularly that of political bent. You are to be complimented for appearing to be head-and-shoulders above the larger North Carolina cities’ newspapers. In my opinion, the editorial pages are the “soul” of a newspaper and in general set the tone of the staff writers, reporters, guest columnist selected, etc., and readers’ letters to the editor.

In that vein, please consider the column by Clarence Page in your Feb. 22 issue. My guess? This was an effort by the North State Journal to be “fair and balanced” and offering a mainstream media point of view.

Page takes a quarter of a page to mock President Donald Trump’s success and his refusal to cower before the all-powerful media. What has Page achieved? He worked “freelance” while earning a degree in journalism. As a mainstream reporter I would call that unemployed.

Hired by the Chicago Tribune, he was drafted into the army around 1970 and served his military obligation as an army journalist at Fort Lewis. Wow! Bet the army really needed those guys! And with Vietnam still pretty hot, too! Back to the Tribune and he has been there since. Yeah about 25 years ago he won a Pulitzer Prize for something. Makes me think of President Obama and Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize. And Page has appeared on MSNBC on Chris Matthews’ “Hardball.”

Perhaps a more objective opinion of the value of Page’s thoughts can be made on Trump’s “slamming” the media. Thanks for your contribution to our state in your efforts to truly improve the quality of news reporting.

Art Wilson
Fuquay-Varina, N.C.