Voices

Paul Jenkins: Alaska Dispatch News should have opinions

The headline was straightforward enough: "Lt. Gov. Mallott to assess governor's, attorney general's legal conflicts."

Fusion Gov. Bill Walker, it turns out, has handed his subordinate, Byron Mallott, final say on whether Walker and his attorney general and former law partner, Craig Richards, can join in at least a half-dozen legal proceedings they were involved in as private lawyers, cases that possibly could pose a conflict of interest for the state.

The story included a lot of yada-yada about this and that, including Richards' assurances that such a delegation of authority is a "normal course of business." That is lawyerese for "nothing to see here; just move along."

All of this, by the way, could be on the up and up, although having Mallott, Walker's running mate and pal, decide his boss's conflicts seems, well, convenient.

What is missing is the newspaper's take on the unusual arrangement. What does the Alaska Dispatch News think about it, about the unseemly coziness?

Alaskans may never know. The ADN has no voice.

In a July 19 piece last year, Alice Rogoff, who bought the Anchorage Daily News and now publishes the Alaska Dispatch News, said, "we no longer intend to publish unsigned editorials or endorsements. Instead, we've chosen to dedicate that space to more of your opinions and perspectives.

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"Our feeling is that as long as we strive to balance all of the many, competing opinions over time, we will be helping you reach your own, better-informed conclusions."

The newspaper, she said, will "not tell you what to think."

All that is very New Age and civilized, but -- pardon the observation -- it smacks of shirking. It is, after all, as the Chicago Times' Wilbur F. Storey put it in 1861, "A newspaper's duty to print the news and raise hell," especially the "raise hell" part.

Newspapers -- especially in places such as Alaska, where there are so few and only one of any size -- have a responsibility to lead, to cajole, to protect the little guy, to wade into the fray, not just stand on the sidelines, fluff up the pillows and cheer others on. Alaskans do not need a playing field, they need a player.

For any newspaper, there is an implied responsibility to get it right, to have a vision, to be a final check on government, and to be an arbitrator, of sorts, in the arena of competing ideas. It gets to have an opinion about what is right.

Newspapers are invaluable cultural institutions afforded constitutional protection for a reason. The traditional, unsigned editorial -- the very soul of any newspaper -- serves as a signpost for the community, a sounding board and, sometimes, a warning. For a newspaper to sit it out, to dodge the messiness of public discourse, trading a good right hook for "balance," is to abdicate its responsibilities.

What would have happened if courageous newspapers had remained silent on civil rights in the 1960s. Or if the Mountain Eagle -- firebombed for its doggedness -- had stood mute on coal and environmental issues in Kentucky? What if large papers other than The New York Times had objected to the Japanese internment in World War II? Imagine editorial silence about Vietnam. Or gay rights. Or women's rights. Who would have framed the debate? When The Times or the Washington Post or the Mud Puddle Gazette editorially has something to say, people tend to pay attention -- not because they want to be told what to think, but to get a reasoned take on the issue.

Unsigned, traditional editorial positions hashed out by an editorial board of honest, intelligent people, editorials projecting a newspaper's honest view of the world, serve to set the table for robust debate, not discourage it.

For a newspaper, the real test is having defensible, reasonable ideas of its own and being unafraid to present opposing views that conflict with them.

Walker's handing off to Mallott the authority to resolve possible conflicts raises myriad, obvious questions. Does he have the authority? Why not an independent entity to make such decisions? After all, at least one of the cases involves Point Thomson, critical to construction of a gas line. What about transparency? If it is legal, is it right? A newspaper should tell its readers what it thinks. That is what newspapers do; they take a stand and say their piece.

A newspaper without a voice is a toothless tiger -- nice to look at, but easily dismissed.

Paul Jenkins is editor of the AnchorageDailyPlanet.com, a division of Porcaro communications.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins is a former Associated Press reporter, managing editor of the Anchorage Times, an editor of the Voice of the Times and former editor of the Anchorage Daily Planet.

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