I recently learned why the New & Record will no longer carry The New York Times columnists: It wants to be a "local" newspaper first and foremost. Those who want to read someone like Thomas Friedman, their argument goes, can buy The New York Times; they don't need the News & Record for that. This line of thinking, in my opinion, betrays an elitist bias.

Knowing that some will find a way to continue getting Friedman, it does not feel obligated to serve the majority of folks who can spare neither time nor money for anything but their "local" newspaper as a source of written information. For them, the newspaper seems to imply, the likes of Cal Thomas and Charles Davenport are good enough. Not so, I argue.

Everybody, rich or poor, deserves the quality of journalism found in Friedman's columns. His expertise on the Middle East and the impact of globalization on the future of this country interest all of us in this shrinking world, not just those who can afford The New York Times. I expected my "local" newspaper to understand this. Clearly, I was wrong.

Nicole Mazgaj
Greensboro