Oppenhagen Column: To be, or not to be . . . local only

I may be signing my own pink slip with this column, but here it goes anyway.

I have had the pleasure of writing this column for about eight years now. I was hired by the paper in part because there was no female columnists at the time but also because I was a decent middle
opinion to a very far right columnist and a very far left columnist who were also writing. We were permitted to write about any topic we chose, our only guideline being to stay within a certain number of
words so our columns could fit on the page. All three of us were interested in politics and our columns frequently explained our viewpoint on different issues of the day — local, national, international. We
wrote of local issues frequently but were never silenced from commenting on national issues.

Eight years later, a lot of things have changed at the News & Messenger. The names on the editorial page have changed for the most part — staff and columnists alike. And the attitude toward columnists
has changed. Months ago, we were all instructed to limit our columns to local news and events. One of the long-time columnists ended up stopping his column because of that restriction. I try to at least
connect my column to things that affect us locally, although I was chastised for a column on health care reform.

And the columnists have been chastised again. This time, our editor has been much more specific in the requirement to tie our columns to local events. And again, I wonder if there is enough material for
me to write weekly. And again, I wonder why.

I know that newspapers in general aren’t doing well, and I do not believe that this paper is any exception. I’ve noticed the daily papers getting thinner and thinner. I’ve also noticed that I only need one hand
to grab the Sunday paper instead of two. Could our restrictions be due to falling circulation numbers? After all the years of reader complaints, could it be that the paper is finally going local?

Could it be that the editorial staff and the publisher are concerned about reader response to columns that are slanted left or right? Isn’t that what opinion columns are all about? When I first started at the
newspaper, there was a definitely liberal column that was balanced by a definitely conservative one. Both sides were heard and, despite many reader complaints and letters against one or the other of the
columnists, they were left to write their opinions and to fend with the hate mail. And boy, did they generate the letters to the editor! But it was all in the spirit of lively discussion of issues that concern us
all.

In politics, there are two types of people: those with definite opinions who do not want to hear what the other side has to say, and those with definite opinions who will listen and consider the other side.
I’m from the second side. I have some strong opinions about certain issues that will never change.

But I feel strongly that the “other side” has value as well, and so I listen and engage. I can remember lively debates with a person of the opposite party and viewpoint at the county fair or at political events.
What was great was that after we debated each other, we left on speaking, friendly terms. That was important, after all. Many times the goal is similar, the path is what is different. And our discussions
were not just about the county budget or the schools, but also about health care and immigration with some social issues thrown in to make the debate more lively.

On one hand, I feel I can easily stay local. I could write about schools and education issues until the literal cows come home. I could write about spending priorities in the county or even development.
And every year there is at least one election to discuss. On the other hand, I also feel passionately that the national and in some cases international issues are important and local. Health care reform is
terribly important. Can I relate the discussion of reform to a specific individual in the county? Not without making private information public. But what happens will affect all of us — from the availability of
the emergency room to the information we discuss with our physicians and family to how we visit our doctors. The same with education policy, immigration policy and national elections.

Yes, I know that there are folks who write much better than I who get paid big bucks to write about those issues. But there is something to be said for also reading the opinion of a local person with a
local background on those same issues, someone outside of the beltway mentality. And I think the newspaper’s restrictions cut off that viewpoint.

I would be interested to read what you think. Send me an e-mail or post a comment on the on-line Web site. And I would appreciate it if you keep your fingers crossed that I don’t end up with a pink slip
on Monday.

Denise Oppenhagen is a longtime resident of Prince William County and can be reached at DenOp1@comcast.net. She will not be getting a pink slip.