The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the ownership or management of this newspaper.

Several weeks ago this column offered an opinion on the controversy surrounding the proposed stadium for Dave Checketts and the Real Salt Lake. Checketts saw it as an "unfair attack", wondered why I hadn't called him to get the "real facts" and was shocked that the column was even printed. The Utah Taxpayers Association awarded the column its Quote of the Month award. Same columnÖTwo different views.

That is the purpose of a column. A column should not be confused with investigative journalism or straight-forward news. Neither does it always require interviews. Honestly, I've been critical of Osama bin Laden, but I never thought I should call him personally before writing this column.

Columns should attract strong response. Over the past three months this column has been viewed as unfair by both the chairman of the Davis Democrats and a member of the Davis Republican Central Committee. I'm proud of that--I call 'em as I see 'em, regardless of party label.

Though columns differ from straight news, they aren't derived out of thin air. In the case of the stadium column, the "facts" came from Salt Lake County's financial analysis, council members, and Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, along with filmed comments from Checketts himself (for which he has since apologized).

This is not in defense of the column. This is Journalism 101. I assumed most folks knew the difference between a news story and an editorial piece. Apparently I was wrong.

There are a few rules for column writing aside from being interesting. One self-imposed rule I have is not negatively commenting on a candidate during a campaign. As an "insider" working in many campaigns, I know the scuttlebutt, but I feel it unfair to blast away prior to the vote. After the election, I'll tell you whether someone was telling a whopper.

A friend wondered why columnists for weekly publications are more likely to be criticized than those of daily papers. If his thesis is correct, I suppose it's because for some time weeklies had the image of hometown boosters.

A football team could lose 48-7, but the sports editor would praise the local boys for showing courage and grit. Likewise, a councilman could say just about anything and be cloaked with the mantle of wisdom and representative of democracy.

In the past 30 years, weeklies have changed. They have become more than a source for scrapbookers. A column last month by our sports editor has made national news, including a column in Sports Illustrated.

I don't know what that columnist will write. But I'll read it, because I'm interested in opinionsÖ.yours and even those of men who guide political parties and own soccer teams.