By: E&P Staff Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz's marriage to U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown was the subject of a Thursday
column by Doug Clifton, editor of The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
"If there comes a time when Connie feels her obligations as the wife of a candidate require a more visible presence on the campaign, she will take a leave of absence," wrote Clifton. "Meanwhile, look for Connie in her twice-weekly column, not campaigning for Sherrod Brown. And understand that Connie's relationship with candidate Brown will have no influence -- for or against -- our coverage of his campaign."
Brown, a Democrat, is currently a U.S. Congressman from Ohio. Schultz, who could not be immediately reached for comment by E&P, is The Plain Dealer columnist who won her Pulitzer this April. She's syndicated by Newhouse News Service.
Clifton also wrote: "Connie writes an opinion column for our feature section. Though she doesn't write about politics, per se, she does write regularly about social-justice issues. By any definition, she's a liberal. Her husband is one of the House's most liberal Democrats and fights for the same kinds of issues Connie frequently takes on in her column.
"Some critics are bothered by that and believe either that Connie is promoting Sherrod Brown's agenda or Sherrod is influencing hers -- an unlikely scenario to anyone who knows Connie.
"Others wonder how we can be impartial in our coverage of the congressman while his wife, the star columnist, is so big a part of The Plain Dealer identity.
"On the other hand, Brown has complained that our coverage of him as been excessively critical, that we've bent over backward to overcome charges of favoritism.
"It's an uncomfortable place for a newspaper to be."
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