Columnists are valuable to newspapers

Currently there is a trend with American newspapers to reduce or eliminate columns and editorials. Some editors report surveys indicate that readers don't want to be told what to think. That's understandable. Most people cherish their freedom to decide and protect their prerogative.

Yet, decision-making requires the gathering of information and the creation of new and/or reinforced awareness. Utilizing the gathering others already have done with their research and analysis can enhance one's own sorting and formulation.

A newspaper without columnists and editorial writers would be like a school without teachers and all that's written on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom is LEARN. Or athletic teams without coaches and one word on the locker room bulletin board: PLAY. Like teachers and coaches, columnists and editorial writers are guides offering options to ponder and concepts to consider. They don't diminish our individuality; they facilitate it. Sometimes among the most liberating words one can utter: "I hadn't thought of that … "

Bruce Williams

Cedar Rapids