The Cheney photo

We’ve had a few phone calls and emails over the photo of Dick Cheney that ran on Sunday’s front page. Reporter Jim Camden said “it’s probably the worst Cheney picture you could have picked.” Managing editor Gary Graham agreed: “They (the critics) have a point - you look at that photo, and it’s very unflattering.”

How do readers react? Here’s a sample:

Your political slant has always been obvious, but this kind of editorial work is simply unprofessional. Could you at least just pretend to be objective journalists? You embarrass your entire organization when you print a horribly cropped, color balance doctored and inappropriately selected photo of your political enemy. It’s a bit hard to claim the moral high ground when you can’t keep to the ethics of your own profession.

Is Dick Cheney really our “political enemy?” No. But there are plenty of people who believe that’s the case, and Sunday’s photo doesn’t do much to dissuade them.

Update 4/18: Steve Smith responds to a reader complaint at Ask the Editors