Can you read this?

A Chicago Tribune reader, like others, again [here and below] makes a reading error in a letter to the editor in response to my calling for the reporting of the good news coming out of Iraq: I didn't say that the bad news shouldn't be reported; I said that the good news should not be buried or ignored, as it seems to be in some corners. When I was taught journalism at Marquette University 40 years ago, reporting both sides of a story was called good journalism.

News of Iraq

Columnist Dennis Byrne's recent piece on the April 9 Chicago Tribune Commentary page, about the good news coming out of Iraq, reminds me of a story about a discussion between an employer and group of employees.

The employees suggested that the employer should send along only good reports about the employees to any prospective new employer.

The employer responded:

"But what if we could prove the employee was a dangerously incompetent lout. You mean we couldn't send that along to the new employer?"

To which the employees said:

"Oh, but want about his good points?"

Thomas Amato

River Forest