Let me clear up something: The internal memo sent out to the news staff of the Raleigh News & Observer, which I wrote about last week, was not authored by N&O editor John Drescher. Its author was Linda Williams, the senior editor for news.

It may come as a relief to some that an internal document so openly and unmistakably contemptuous of a major political party (the GOP, as if I have to tell you) wasn’t written by the top guy. If so, your sense of relief is misplaced. The N&O’s hierarchy has flattened a bit in recent years, but Williams could reasonably be said to be the No. 2 person in the newsroom. Don’t be deluded about this: The memo accurately and fairly reflects the attitudes of many of the newsroom’s managers and staff members. And I say that with the absolute confidence that comes with having read similar daily in-house memos for the 14 years I spent at the N&O.

Drescher is reluctant to engage this matter publicly. When I asked him, via email, about the memo, his response was this: “I am dealing with the matter internally.”

Fair enough. That likely would be my response, too, if our roles were switched. But while I was dealing with this internally, I’d make damn sure my troops understood a few things. First, I’d tell them that everyone is free to privately hold whatever political and social beliefs they like, but if they can’t set those beliefs aside during the 37.5 hours they’re on the N&O payroll each week then they’d better have an emergency back-up career plan ready.

Second, I’d offer a refresher course in why this matters. I’d explain, for the slow-witted or those who don’t feel the need to even pretend anymore to be fair-minded, that blatant partisanship undermines the exemplary work done for the N&O by people like Pat Stith, Joe Neff, Dan Kane and Ryan Teague Beckwith (who has admirably confronted the bias issue head-on). I’d also remind them that the N&O’s parent company is teetering on the edge of a financial abyss, and that this isn’t the time to confirm the suspicions of a huge part of the population that already believes liberal bias infects the industry.

Third, I’d tell them that there’s an important distinction between objectivity and fair-mindedness. Pure objectivity is a hopeless ideal. No human is capable of it, and besides, the simple act of collecting information and assembling it into a readable form involves countless subjective judgments. But fair-mindedness — which is to say, approaching any topic or issue with an open and receptive attitude — is an absolute, non-negotiable requirement of the job.

Finally, and to emphasize that I was serious about all this, I’d send Linda Williams home without pay for a couple of weeks. Seeing the consequences of her memo-writing foolishness would help clear everyone’s mind.

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