Chad Calek certainly has stirred up a lot of controversy as of late.

Through it all, I have supported him because I believe in the First Amendment.

He is a journalist and is protected by the First Amendment.

Mr. Calek’s Oct. 6th article, “Ten reasons we need porn,” made me think a little more.

In my opinion, the subject was grotesque to say the least. But what disturbed me even more is the way in which it was addressed. Mr. Calek was no longer a journalist. He was simply a person craving attention who was in a position to get it.

This was most obvious from his last sentence. Mr. Calek was not out to inform people of his feelings. His statement, “We’ll talk later,” clearly proves to me that his only reason for writing this article was to see how many responses he could get via Quick Es the following day.

Now the question arises: Why was it published? If it is no longer journalism, it is, in my opinion, no longer protected under the First Amendment. It appears that perhaps the Iowa State Daily was merely craving attention also.

A newspaper should be a forum for journalism. But yesterday, the Iowa State Daily became a forum for an attention-starved, Howard Stern/Jerry Springer wannabe.

In my opinion, the editorial staff needs to reconsider where the line between Freedom of the Press and a journalist’s responsibility lay.

Ryan Walrod

Freshman

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