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The commission is seeking information related to the events of Nov. 3, 1979, in which five communist labor organizers were killed in a confrontation with KKK and neo-Nazi members.

"Our job is to listen to as many people as possible and gather their respective insights into one comprehensive narrative about November 3, 1979, and the impact it has had on our community," according to an article written by two commissioners, Cynthia Brown and Robert Peters.

Jim was not a witness to the events that day, although he has reported on much of the related news in the 25 years since, as have scores of our reporters. They have been interviewed about the incident, but that occurred when the events were merely considered part of Greensboro's history, not an ongoing news story. Jim participated on a panel discussion more recently, which, frankly, was probably a mistake. But it also was not part of an official examination in the way that a statement to the commission would be.

It is not that these reporters don't have opinions; it is that they put them aside when they are reporting and writing a story.

"One might imagine that one could both report on events and be a participant in them, but the reality is that being a participant clouds all the other tasks a journalist must perform," Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel write in "The Elements of Journalism." "It becomes difficult to see things from other perspectives. It becomes more difficult to win the trust of the sources and combatants on different sides. It becomes difficult if not impossible to then persuade your audience that you put their interests ahead of those of the team that you are also working for.

"In other words, you might be a secret adviser to those you are writing about or a speechwriter, or take money. But it is an act of arrogance, and probably naivete or delusion, to think it won't get in the way."

Their conclusion -- and one with which I agree -- is that journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover. Submitting a statement compromises that.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission will spend much of the year gathering information, holding hearings and compiling its report. (Our archives, incidentally, are open to the commissioners in that effort.) After that, its findings will be discussed and debated. The hearings, the report and the discussion are and will be news. We must be able to write about that completely, fairly and accurately so that you can sort out for yourselves what you think about it.

Another matter that has also proved somewhat controversial -- at least in the comment sections of our online Web logs -- is our commitment announced last November that at least a third of our news hires will be minorities.

Here's a six-month update: Since November, we have hired five people in the newsroom, and two of them are African American.

Our goal is to increase the diversity of our staff until it better mirrors the racial makeup of Guilford County, where 35 percent of the population are members of minority groups. Our newsroom is currently 91 percent white.

Last November, I wrote: "A diverse staff broadens, deepens and enriches our coverage of the world. It helps us avoid the stereotypes and misunderstandings that come with a multicultural society."

"The fact is the world is different for white people and for people of color. A diverse staff provides an authenticity and robustness that can’t be duplicated. And if readers don’t see their worlds and voices in the newspaper, they won’t see the newspaper as credible."

For us, this is a marathon we're going to finish, and we'll be a better newspaper for it.