Inbox

3 minute read
TIME

Kudos to Kate
Mark Harris’ agreeable article on Kate Winslet ignores one of her defining cinematic achievements: her first film, Peter Jackson’s classic New Zealand epic Heavenly Creatures [March 2]. The strength of this performance, and the manner in which she brought to life the notorious Christchurch schoolgirl Juliet Hulme, was deeply striking. One can only gape in awe at the growth in ability she has shown from such an auspicious beginning.
Victor Ochoa,
Danville, Ill., U.S.

I am a model and grateful that you published insights on Winslet’s decisions as an actress, and not more tedium on her weight or her fashion choices.
Aimee Butler Cassidy,
Shanghai

Healing a National Wound
Senator Patrick Leahy’s advocacy for a truth commission, charged with uncovering facts about alleged torture and civil-liberties abuses by the Bush Administration, is warranted [March 2]. Despite all that is right about our country, it is painfully clear that we tend to set aside the moral and ethical breaches in our history. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up in South Africa in the aftermath of apartheid was designed to encourage a national catharsis of a shameful past. Most agree that the effort was worthwhile. Some would say there can be no forgiveness without repentance. The Bush-Cheney Administration was arrogant to the very end. Perhaps it is time to establish our own version of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission so that we can truly move on.
G. Patrick Thompson,
Roseville, Mich., U.S.

The idea of a truth-finding panel is an excellent one, but it would help our understanding to study whether the torture and other alleged illegal activities actually prevented terrorist attacks. I think Dick Cheney and George W. Bush were violating the law and the Constitution but sincerely believed this was necessary to protect the American people. Was it? Investigating this issue might vindicate them. It also might not.
Sara Brown,
Clinton, N.J., U.S.

Are Newspapers Dead?
Walter Isaacson’s story about the very likely imminent death of newspapers is exactly the kind of wake-up call people need now [March 2]. I have been a daily newspaper reporter for more than 14 years and have never seen such a dire situation. A world without local, daily papers and the content they provide would be a very sad, uninformed and dull place.
Ken Ross,
Ware, Mass., U.S.

It is telling that on the subject of the advertising-only revenue model, which Isaacson says is “completely beholden” to advertisers, he turns to the opinions of Henry Luce, who has been dead for more than 40 years. The free alternative newspapers I represent have generally written more critically of business — and sometimes their own clients — than most paid publications. There are hundreds of other examples in which the advertising-only model has produced hard-hitting journalism. The bottom line for all news media is the same regardless of model: you’d better produce content that people pay attention to, or you aren’t going to have a business.
Richard Karpel, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies,
Washington

As a news reporter and editor for more than 50 years, I feel that newspapers can save themselves. How about concentrating on purely local news instead of trying to reflect what readers saw on cable TV the day before? Publish local school lunch menus, city-hall doings and, yes, local police and court reports. As for coverage from Baghdad and Kabul, editors can rely on the Associated Press and other news organizations with respected reporters. Gang reporting wastes time and money.
Frank Real,
Palmer, Mass., U.S.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com