Discouraged.

My local newspaper, the Concord Monitor, published this WaPO piece, which is purely an Op-ed rumor filled bit, not of hard news quality.

This is the headline the Monitor ran the piece with:

Cheney's Record Damaging His Standing

Rumors circulate about his place on the '04 ticket

If this was run on the Op-Ed page, I'd have no qualms about it. After all, the WaPo correctly -- in my humble opinion -- ran the piece under "Opinions" > "Columns" > "White House Notebook."

However, the usually sensible Monitor ran this as the lead in their "Nation/World" section. This is not good policy.

I'm sure there are a lot of you that think I'm merely 'splitting hairs' here. Perhaps I am. But I see this as a snapshot of a
wider issue affecting journalism today. Innuendo replaces facts, and celebrity bests substance.

Yes, I know that print exists as the conduit to sell more print. But there are what I would consider inviolate rules. One of these being to properly place items within their most proper setting.