SPEAKING OF NEWSPAPERS: Telegram hopes to red line with local voices

Earth still revolves once daily, yet the world has speeded up. And The Telegram is accelerating with it.

Speed, however, can be defined a couple ways. There’s top speed, and there’s 0 to 60.

Last week, we launched an editorial blog, hoping to provide a quicker way for people to respond to news and opinion. Called Superior Voices, it’s on our home page, www.superiortelegram.com, under the logo “Area Voices.”

In the past week, 106 readers have checked it out. Unfortunately, none have joined the discussion. So you might say our 0 to 60 score hasn’t broken any record. But it’s early, and we still hope to red line.

Two topics currently are open for discussion. One asks whether mayors should endorse presidential candidates. More specifically, we’re seeking your opinion on whether Mayor Dave Ross should follow Duluth Mayor Don Ness, who endorsed Barack Obama and became state co-chair of his Minnesota campaign.

Our belief is that politicians in nonpartisan office have little to offer and even less to gain by endorsing anybody in any race. What’s your belief?

The other topic addresses The Telegram’s partisan neutrality, or lack thereof. It stems from a call accusing us of leaning left, particularly in our views on President George Bush. We’ll concede to the latter, but not the former. Do we bash the president too much? How much respect does his ill-prepared, poorly informed administration deserve?

Drop by. Superior needs a full-contact intellectual sport.

Tags: speaking, newspapers, brochu, telegram, blogs