Chicago writer should get fired for this article

[irishtrekker]

Originally Posted by 2MinsToPost

One thing we, as readers, need always remember is that there is a difference between say an AP story and a guy or gals opinion piece. It was the way he came across in this piece, thats all that bugs me. But hey, he has that right. Sounds like he has his facts straight too. I enjoy a piece like that cause it either does one of two things too me usually - I laugh or I get all fired up. Its good for the blood circulation and brain cells either way and gets people talking, the ones in favor, the ones against or the fence line folks. Ultimately, he is responsible mostly for his words and the paper is as well.

Yeah, this is an opinion piece, not a news article -- so he has the right to be as inflammatory as he wants to be. When I used to freelance, I was actually told to make my pieces a little more knee-jerk because I was reasoning with people when I should have just pushed their buttons (very annoying, and thankfully not the way all newpapers run their ships). However, the rules of journalism are pretty different for opinion pieces and for news stories...so if his writing itself was over the top, he's entirely entitled to portray it however he sees it. If he actually lied, that's different.