Letter: SUN article actually did Art Museum a favor

Saturday, Aug. 23, 1997 | 3:29 a.m.

He missed the main point. The long article examined the museum in detail, more seriously than its own staff does. With its two huge photos - one in color - this second long analysis of the museum in a few months makes Dickensheets the best publicist the art museum has ever had. The staff should be sending him fruit baskets and asking when he would like to do a follow-up.

In a wider view, Dickensheets' articles have struck a blow against the fraudulent and crippling journalistic stance of "objectivity," a pretense which is a twin to the court system's notion that only the most ignorant citizens should serve on juries.

Radically departing from the local journalistic norm, Dickensheets aggressively gathered information on the museum from all sides, then wrote his pieces from an informed viewpoint, rather than the common idiotic one. He made no attempt to hide the position he finally reached - which he made clear is still evolving but he worked hard and long to explain all serious opinions in the community regarding the complex issues of the museum's future.

He did the museum and all of us an unusual favor.

Patrick Gaffey