Publisher’s Note: Why I spiked two columns–and what that means for ‘Views’

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve spiked* two contributed opinion pieces from writers on opposite sides of the political fence — one conservative, the other liberal — espousing completely different views. Both were reasonably well crafted, cogent, and forceful, the work of very credible people. And neither was right for The Monitor’s “Views” page.

That set me to thinking about what is right.

As readers may, by now, have tired of hearing me say, The Monitor aims to be a solutions-focused news organization. Our mission statement commits us to “exploring both urgent challenges and the responses to those challenges…investigating wrongdoing and revealing how what’s broken could be fixed.”