I want to echo Kyle Robisch’s Friday comments regarding Bryan Griffin’s columns. Despite being a right-leaning moderate myself, Griffin’s writing is bland and banal, which wouldn’t be so bad if it also didn’t exude a smug, “look-how-clever-I-am” tone.
I wish he didn’t sound so impressed with himself every week. I read “The Weekly Standard” too, Mr. Griffin. You are not imparting new revelations every week.
That’s just my personal opinion, though. This isn’t: Griffin is currently running for elected office, namely a seat on the Alachua County Soil and Water Conservation District. It may seem like an insignificant office, but it’s frequently used as a stepping stone for aspiring politicians to build a resume on their path to higher office. Griffin’s conservative columns, when viewed in this light, are essentially campaign materials, intended to build name recognition and credibility among conservative voters.
It is highly inappropriate and unprofessional for the Alligator to give Griffin, or any other politician running for office, a free, weekly ad in its newspaper, especially without disclosing this to its readers. This tarnishes the journalistic credibility of the Alligator.
I do not blame Griffin for this - if I were a politician, I would eagerly accept a job as columnist, but it is inexcusable for the Alligator’s editors to let this continue.
If the opinion page editor is unwilling to do the right thing and take away Griffin’s column, at least until after the election, and replace him with a conservative/libertarian voice who is actually original and articulate, he should at least print a disclosure at the bottom of each of Griffin’s columns. And regardless, he should apologize to the Alligator’s readers.
Editor's note: This letter refers to this letter.
