News-Record.com

Some readers are unhappy with us today. Well, some readers are unhappy with us every day, but today they called to take us to task about two things in particular.

First, a full page ad on page B5 says "More than Ever Vote Republican." Below that is a photograph of Patrick Ballantine and the words "Ballantine Governor." Beneath that is a line that reads "Endorsed by the State Employees Association of North Carolina." And then all the Republican candidates from this area are listed. The problem, callers say, is that all of those candidates have NOT been endorsed by the State Employees Association PAC. Ballantine has been, but not all the others. See the endorsements for yourself. The ad was purchased by the Guilford County Republican Party.

It's not incorrect because the endorsement line could be interpreted as referring only to Ballantine. But it could also be read as saying that all the candidates on the list have the PAC's endorsement. Gee, a political ad that isn't clear and has a multitude of interpretations. What will they come up with next?

Second, we published a photograph of two women sitting in chairs watching the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Several callers complained that the photo shows a view up one of the women's skirts. Actually, the woman is wearing shorts, and what callers think is her skirt is the canvas bag that her folding chair came in. She has it draped across her lap.

The photograph isn't revealing or offensive. But content that results in confusion rather than understanding is best avoided. We should have chosen another photograph and the ad should have been more clearly focused.