Editorialists Are Also Journalists

The following letter-to-the-editor was submitted via e-mail to the New York Daily News's "Voice of the People" on December 6, 2016. As far as I know the letter was never published.

Re: Voicer Mark Felcon (December 4, 2016) who thinks editorialists are not journalists. In fact, they are as much journalists as are reporters. They just have a different function. Reporters give us the who, what, where, when, why, and how of events. Editorial writers and columnists, on the other hand, analyze this data and try to make sense of it for readers, knowing there will always be room for disagreement. It is up to each reader, when reading the news and editorial pages, to apply some critical thinking to the process, and to gather enough information from a variety of sources before drawing a conclusion about an issue. Sincerely yours, Charles Michael Smith.

A History Lesson

This unpublished letter-to-the-editor was sent to the New York Daily News "Voice of the People" via e-mail on May 1, 2015.

Dear Editor:

I don't excuse or condone the actions of the rioters and looters in Baltimore. And Voicer Andrew Keats is correct when he stated that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "didn't sit at home waiting for an excuse to steal, destroy and riot." However, Keats paints a rose-colored depiction of the civil rights movement and Dr. King's peaceful and nonviolent marches. He overlooks the fact that despite Dr. King's nonviolent protests against social injustice, he was still thought to be a lawbreaker, an agitator, and a Communist dupe, if not an outright Communist, by Southern segregationists, conservative religious leaders, and J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI.

Sincerely yours,
Charles Michael Smith

The Subway Is Not For Joyriders

The Voice of the People
New York Daily News
220 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
May 17, 1993

Dear Editor:

I wonder what those who see Keron Thomas as a hero would have said if the A train the 16-year-old train buff commandeered had derailed, killing or injuring a friend or relative who might have been aboard.

To let Thomas off the hook would send a message to like-minded youth that it's all right to joyride a subway train packed with passengers. Thomas should be made to complete several hours of community service as a way to underscore to him the seriousness of his acts.

And those at the Transit Authority should hang their heads in shame for allowing lax security to exist in the subway system. What if this had been a real-life Taking of Pelham One Two Three? Especially weeks after the World Trade Center bombing.

Sincerely yours,
Charles Michael Smith

The above letter was sent but not published.

You Just Can't Please 'Em

"If Michelle Obama wears shorts, it infuriates people who remember past First Ladies. If she tries to keep up with modern trends, it does the same thing. What's a Lady to do?"--Patricia A. Galimberti, North Bergen, N.J., letter-to-the-editor, "Voice of the People", New York Daily News, August 15, 2010.

Maybe Michelle Obama's detractors would prefer she wear her birthday suit in public.

Missing Mayors

The New York Daily News included a pull out Election Day Special called "Kings of the City" (November 3, 2009) that featured a photo of Michael Bloomberg and several past mayors (one photo was misidentified as Robert Wagner). Inside were several photos of each of the mayors on the cover with the exception of Abe Beame and Robert Wagner. The photo department at the paper couldn't dig up any pictures of either mayor? That's strange.

Michael Bloomberg, the King of New York

"We need to help our mayor[New York's Michael Bloomberg] get elected not for four more years;for me, I would love to see him here for 20 more years."--Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer ( "Let Bloomy Reign, sez fashion big Oscar de la Renta," New York Daily News, October 18, 2009)

At the end of multi-billionaire Bloomberg's 20-year reign, New York, especially Manhattan, would be more expensive than it is now. And rich guys like de la Renta would be the only ones able to afford to live here.

The Name Is Obama, Not Bam

I wish the editors at the New York Post and the New York Daily News would stop referring to President Barack Obama as Bam in their headlines. In case they don't know it, Bam is the stage name of a well-endowed black male porn star who appears in both gay and straight porn videos. He also writes a monthly column in Black Inches magazine (or he did the last time I saw the magazine).