To the editors:
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
I found James Krohe Jr.’s piece on Richard Bray and Guild Bookstore, Chicago Reader, April 14, 1989, to be offensive at best, and extremely poor journalism at worst. The article opens up with, and continues to utilize throughout its length, supposition, absence of fact and what can only be an undertone of malicious intent. Consider Mr. Krohe’s presumption in the very first paragraph: “He looked pale and dismayed–perhaps at his own weakness.” Are we all to be considered to be contemplating our own weaknesses, whatever they may be, whenever dismay shows in our faces? Or is Mr. Krohe attempting to become more of an investigative reporter than a lead story writer. Not too much further on in Mr. Krohe’s dribble is his statement that he “felt obliged” to add to the “nice things” people have to say about Bray that he is a sloppy eater. This is pure and simple dribble. Was Mr. Krohe finding out in paragraph six of his piece that he simply needed to fill space, or is this an act of malicious commenting on the part of an “impartial” observer? In any event, these types of snide and useless remarks show up regularly throughout Mr. Krohe’s piece.
W. Newport
