While I fully expected the journalistic circus that would surround Lt. Col. North`s first day of testimony, I was surprised to see the front-page treatment offered by Cheryl Lavin (”Ollie`s World off and running”).
Obviously Ms. Lavin is an accomplished writer, and her article is quite amusing, even to those of us who strongly disagree. However, while I maintain that such an article has a definite place within a newspaper, it`s not on the front page–represented as objective news reporting.
The article zeroed in on such important areas of global and domestic impact as ”contra cowboy . . . a pug nose, bad teeth and deep wrinkles under his eyes,” to misplaced references such as calling North a ”wise guy” and pondering for whom North may have bought pantyhose.
Unless her clever treatment of the hearing was placed closer to the editorial section with a prominent ”Commentary” heading, or closer to the comics section at the very least, such selective observations should also include the other side as well.
