Reporting and presenting criticism

This week's correspondence columns contain some well-intentioned criticism of the lead story in Salient Two. Correspondents feel, and not without justification, that the possibility of a person losing his job; or the job being denied him in the first instance; if in fact these were the alternatives; because of views which do not flow smoothly in the mainstream (or cess pool) of social convention is unjust.

Far be it from the writer to say that it is.

The simple justification for introducing the story to be deliberated by readers was that it was news Sufficient people, upwards of thirty in fact, mentioned it to the writer, in the two months prior to publication to illustrate its potentiality in terms of news value that it deserved the significance it was accorded.

That rather nebulous phenomenon of opinion Salient, tries not to share its opinions save for editorials. We were reporting criticism of Mr Kelly and the Department of External Affairs, not presenting criticism ourselves.