The Observer, February 18, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 18
Free Speech Zone: Column unintentionally satirical, ironic
To the Editor:
While many underclassmen may not know this, The Observer used to have a humor page. If you didn't read last week's Observer, Rique Harshman brought this much-missed section back with a vengeance
Ms. Harshman's editorial has put me through fits before, but it has taken a realization of my impending graduation to finally reply. In the past, Ms. Harshman has used such tactics as making up support for her arguments (two days after reading her column on how abstinence programs were pushing teen pregnancies to new heights, I read an article lauding the fact that teen pregnancies were at their lowest point in two decades) and pleas for righteous indignation (perhaps Zondervan tried to market their new Today's New International Version – stylized as the most contemporary of Bibles – in Rolling Stone because it is supposed to be more readable for our younger generation? Or is it more plausible that Zondervan thinks that the heathen masses of rock n' roll listeners are more worth saving than classical music fans?). So what has she gotten up to this time?
Ms. Harshman's "Irresponsbile [sic] Journalism: America's favorite pastime" is either an ironically bad reflection on The Observer or a brilliant satire to rival Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." To begin with, the column has several errors (did you know that America is dumb and "uniformed"?) which, while not "irresponsbile," are certainly not up to the high standards I hope for in journalism. Sticking with the trend, Ms. Harshman begins a diatribe in which she refutes the argument of "liberal bias" by citing many examples of "conservative bias." She sets up straw men (why did the media focus on the Clinton sex scandal? Perhaps, because it involved perjury by the President?) and knocks them down with enthusiasm – one wonders if this is preparation for renaming her column "Left and Pissed Off." She seems personally affronted that the media didn't trumpet Rumsfeld's offer of resignation, despite the likelihood that this was offered in private rather than in front of cameras and tape recorders. There is a difference between editorial leeway and the obstinacy of political zealotry.
As one who owes allegiance to no political party, I think that I can honestly say "is it so much to ask for balance, tact, and moderation in news and news coverage?" Ms. Harshman should be reminded that I borrowed those words from her.
Michael Partusch
Undergraduate Student
