Anyonymity behind a penname

The publication of a recent letter penned by someone called, "The Sidney Citizen" has caused an outrage among many citizens who feel that if you cannot mention your name, you don't deserve consideration for any idea you may want to bring up. I am going to agree with that assertion, with one caveat.

If a person feels that opening their name up and attaching it to a controversial subject would cause problems for them at their job or for their family, then they should remain anonymous and confide in a member of the news media that they can trust. As is often the case with rumors, people will tend to believe what they want to believe and the story will morph to larger and wider proportions until the truth is made clear to all, at the same time.

What happens when someone puts out a message when the messenger misleads the public about their name in the course of trying to steer the public on national politics?

We have learned in the last several days about a mysterious set of letters that have been sent to publications across the nation. The letters praise the Obama administration and tell people to be patient and give the president time to get his agenda accomplished. One of these letters went a publication in Ohio and thus started the mystery to unravel.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer writer Sabrina Eaton received a letter from an Ellie Light referencing the above sentiment. She told news agencies that she had worked with an Ellie Light at a previous paper and replied to her in an attempt to catch up. When she did not receive a reply, she googled "Ellie Light" and found a series of letters to different publications that had been published, all with different addresses.

Seeing something amiss, Eaton brought the issue to her bosses and they wrote a story about it. Eventually, the person came forward and purported themselves to be a woman named Barbara Stewart and provided personal details about herself. As it turns out, Mrs. Stewart made her own communication with the paper and explained that it was her husband Winston who had sent the letters under the pen name Ellie Light and not she. No word yet on whether this was an attempt to control the media by democratic operatives, but the story continues to draw attention, particularly in the area of verification policies for newspapers and other media outlets.

The point I guess I am trying to make here is that anonymity shouldn't automatically discount the message a person brings to the table. Where fear of reprisal is likely to occur, we are encourage to anonymously report things such as crimes or whistle-blower activities. Anonymous reporting should not generally be used, except to protect a person or group from unwarranted attacks in the process of bringing important information to light.

In the case of the Sidney Citizen letter, and based on the public discussion last night, the author may indeed have an axe to grind. I felt it was important to bring the questions to the light of day with my name attached it so answers could put some of the angst, the public has experienced to the wayside, where it belongs.

Michael Rowland