Columnist Left Out Important Point

Mike Masterson, a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, wrote a loving Valentine’s Day column about Harrison’s American Freightways Inc., the less-than-truckload carrier that in February 2000 was acquired by FedEx Corp. of Memphis.

He also praised the firm’s founder by saying that Sheridan Garrison will “always stand as proof and encouragement of what one person’s courage, sense of fair play, integrity and dogged determination can accomplish.”

We agree that Garrison is a class act who made American Freightways, now FedEx Freight, a shipping power. But what the columnist neglected to mention is that immediately before joining the D-G staff, Masterson was head of public relations for American Freightways.

Columns are supposed to include opinions. We’re told a variety of these makes for a good intellectual diet.

However, Masterson should have informed his readers that he was previously paid to promote his hometown hero. His message would not have been compromised, and the admission would have leant him more credibility in the journalistic community.