Epilogue: Why did I write Part V of Tennessean series? For sake of readers past and present

An angry reader writes in to condemn me for writing Part V of my series on the rise and fall of The Tennessean.

That part highlighted a lot of silliness -- including the sexual kind -- prominently displayed in the newsroom. The reader, however, complains that such writing was not journalism.

Actually, it is. It was an explanatory piece for Tennessean readers -- particularly those who have canceled their subscriptions -- as to why the product suffered while all the other departments outside of the newsroom were busting their asses to raise their performance.

Now if The Tennessean was located in San Francisco, for instance, than these silliness would not be worth writing about. But The Tennessean is located on the Buckle of the Bible Belt, a more conservative place where faith in how one conducts his or her life is most important.

The shenanigans also explain why most of the newsroom management frowned upon religion or those who outwardly expressed their faith, because the conduct championed there would be frowned upon. We all believe we're smarter than God.

I'm not a prude. I've made my mistakes. But when those errors affect the product, then a line must be drawn, because people are paying money and Jefferson's informed populace is being denied the tools to defend this republic.

That's the way it is in any business, and the media love to report on such wrongs in corporate America and Hollywood. So I can understand why a reader who is a journalist would hate to have the tables turned on his or her profession. But they need to be.

Worst, the hijinks showed a newsroom with a value system so out of touch with the readers who were supposed to be served.

So readers and past readers deserved an explanation, just as they did in the Monica Lewinsky Scandal and how the presidency could be so threatened. The Tennessean -- and other newspapers -- also is an institution that should be scrutinized.

I don't hate the newspaper. But I do hate what it did to readers and how its whacked-out value system drove a lot of good journalists away.

So that's why I wrote Part V. Until these wrongs are acknowledged, they cannot be exorcised from the newspaper and clear the way for a better and more profitable day.

Part V was very constructive criticism to produce a better Tennessean, if anyone over there in charge is willing to listen.