Editor:

Thanks very much for publishing Marcy Burstiner's eloquent article about First Amendment rights and distasteful articles, which appeared in last week's North Coast Journal ("Media Maven," Oct. 7). Her complex reaction to Ryan Burns' blood-soaked article, your own (editor's) reaction to readers' criticism and the fundamental value of intellectual and press freedoms generally mirrors mine -- but I could never explain it as convincingly and approachably as Burstiner has done.

That's why we need challenging journalists, papers willing to print their work and editors willing to provide a platform for reflective and nuanced discourse beyond both the sensationally disturbing cover picture and our own reactions of instinctive horror.

Judith Mayer, Arcata