The Press: The Prophet Motive

At the ripe old age of 184, the Hartford Courant is still hale, hearty (circ. 61,000) and articulate. Its readers speak up, too. In a single letters-to-the-editor column last week they hurled such epithets at the editorials across the page as "boorish," "intolerant," "jaundiced," "smug," "partisan propaganda," and "poorly written." The editors hardly winced; as long as they were getting back talk, they knew that their stuff was being read.

It is one of the signs of the decline of the editorial page that many papers rarely get either brickbats or backpats. Editorial writers, feeling a little obsolete, often wonder out loud...

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