Williamson AM risks reader trust with politically-inept community column and forum page

I've lived in Williamson County for 11 years. The Republicanism and conservatism here have been unchallenged in my time here. And it remains so from my daily dealings with regular people in grocery stores, parks, auto repair shops and other public venues in Brentwood and Franklin.

For me, that truth is neither good or bad. It is just as it is and should be reported as so. This county is more identified by its faith and the good works from it -- particularly from its children and teens -- than any political label.

So I was astonished last Sunday at reading a staff column and a forum for representative reader opinion in Williamson A.M. that the county is growing increasing diverse politically -- specifically more Democratic.

More, as a former editorial page editor, I was intrigued by a letter to the editor yesterday in Williamson A.M. -- a section of Tennessean newspaper -- about a problem reader Ken Deck of Franklin says he uncovered in last Sunday's "Your Voices" section.

Of 18 responses run on the page about political diversity in Williamson County, 14 were pro-Democratic and only one tilted toward Republicans, Deck wrote.

Here's all I know:

It seems The Voices' feature does not frequently use the reader solicitation list my wife compiled over years in managing and nurturing the newspaper page. My wife was first dedicated to fairness and balance. The extent that she would go to ensure accuracy and generosity in editing was beyond what is typical in our profession or fully appreciated by bosses. She retired this past summer.

But when my wife left, the considerable list of readers she compiled over years from faithful responders was turned over to Williamson A.M. We don't know what happened to it after that. But it's obvious that the good readers and citizens of Williamson County represented by that list are not always being used in the forum.

Williamson A.M.'s strength has been that you couldn't tell its political leanings and that the people who wrote for it knew their community. That's what made last Sunday's silliness and shallow examination on local politics so surprising.

Any contention that Williamson County is turning more Democratic -- primarily from information gleaned from columnist bar hopping and a new reader list -- only serves to undercut those strengths.

These strengths should be more diligently guarded. Trust and credibility are hard to get back.