As political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin demonstrate every time they share a microphone, there's room for disagreement in a marriage.

Serious disagreement.

But at least the political junkies that watch and/or listen to Carville and Matalin discuss the issues of the day don't have to guess at the relationship between the two commentators.

That's because the Carville-Matalin marriage is now an integral part of their schtick.

Now, imagine that a married couple are both employed by the same newspaper--(The Daily Planet).

Suppose that one spouse (Spouse X) diligently works the City Hall beat for a decade...pumping out three-to-five news (i.e. fact-based) stories a week on the goings-on in the Mayor's office...as well as City Council and the Police Department.

And suppose that, in part because The Daily Planet is the only full-service daily newspaper in town, Spouse X becomes a kind of public figure in her own right...and even appears occasionally as a guest on several local radio and TV broadcasts as an expert on local politics.

After all, most of the town's political news, at least on the print side of things, passes through her word processor.

So everyone wants to be liked by Spouse X.

But Spouse X, although she is admired by most of the Daily Planet's readership...well, Spouse X is thought, by some, to be biased in her reporting...a charge that she and her colleagues reject as the usual criticism that a journalist must face in his or her work.

Then, also suppose that the other spouse (Spouse Y), after long-time employment as a behind-the-scenes news-and-politics editor at The Daily Planet...suddenly begins writing opinion pieces that have as their subject the town's political heavyweights.

In other words, the subjects of Spouse Y's opinion pieces, written under his byline, are often the very same subjects that his wife, Spouse X, has been covering on the news-and-fact side of the Daily Planet.

One additional detail.

In large part because Spouse Y's career at the Daily Planet has been in a behind-the-scenes role, the Daily Planet's readers have not been aware of him...and therefore those same readers are also not aware of his marriage to the much better known Spouse X.

A question: whenever Spouse Y writes an opinion column, under his byline and photo, does the Daily Planet have an obligation to inform its readers that he is married to Spouse X?

The media watch section of St. Louis Sports Online used to be the best-read part of our e-zine.

In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests that some folks surfed to www.stlsports.com only for the media reports.

Especially because, with reporter Scott Simon stirring the pot, our media watch took no prisoners.

Which meant that yours truly fielded more-than-occasional e-mails and phone calls from oh-so-sensitive members of the St. Louis sports media.

Those were the days.

For example, back in the summer of '97, Media Watch (in a piece authored by yours truly) took a shot at Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz.

Miklasz' transgression?

Because, in our eyes, his incessant support of news Rams coach Dick Vermeil went over-the-top...to the point where, in our opinion, his opinions began to lose their credibility.

But that wasn't all.

As detailed in our July, 97, column, the then-Mrs. Mary Miklasz authored two articles that appeared in the July, 20, edition of the Post-Dispatch ...articles that focussed on Carol Vermeil, Dick Vermeil's wife.

Quoting from our previous piece (in red):

Nevertheless, portions of the articles read as though they were written by the Rams PR staff...and Carol Vermeil, whose husband left a successful broadcasting career to coach the Rams in part because John Shaw made him one of the highest-paid non-playing employees in all of the NFL, comes out looking like Mother Teresa.

Maybe Carol Vermeil is saintly. Heck, let's assume that she is! And let's also assume that Mary Miklasz is a talented sportswriter.

But that's not the point.

And it's not the point of this article to dredge up old articles.

Rather...we strive to be consistent in our criticism...which, in the case of Mary and Bernie Miklasz, centered on the fact that the wife of the P-D's lead sports columnist wrote puff pieces that had as their subject the wife of one of the most significant sports figures on the St. Louis sports scene.

But, at least some combination of the minds of Mary Miklasz, Bernie Miklasz, and/or the P-D editorial staff had the good sense to inform its readers that Mary was, at that time, in fact married to Bernie.

To do anything else would have deceived the poor reader.

But recently, the Post-Dispatch has deceived at least one reader regarding the background of its newest sports columnist.

That reader was yours truly.

And the columnist was Kathleen Nelson.

Some background is necessary.

As detailed in the Miklasz piece, yours truly has long hoped for another voice on the pages of the only St. Louis-based full-service daily newspaper.

So, last month, when the picture of Kathleen Nelson graced the upper-lefthand corner of the sports page, I looked forward to reading her work.

I went to the trouble of informing a handful of St. Louis Sports Online readers of the new P-D sports columnist...and how a fresh perspective would enliven the left-hand side of the sports section's front page.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was informed by St. Louis Sports Online columnist (and WGNU sportscaster) Mike Huss...that Kathleen Nelson is a long-time P-D staffer...and that she is married to Dave Luecking...the veteran P-D St. Louis Blues beat writer.

Nelson's initial column did not have anything to do with to the Blues. Perhaps, I thought, she wouldn't write about the Blues.

But then, after Nelson wrote about the wife of former Blues owner Harry Ornest in one column, and current Blue Kelly Chase in another...I felt deceived...and I believe that the readers of the P-D should have been informed of the relationship between columnist Nelson and reporter Luecking.

Furthermore, it's hard to see what harm would come to Nelson, Luecking, or the P-D if that relationship had been disclosed--Full Disclosure Style.

Well...the St. Louis Sports Online Media Watch is now back in business.

Open Fire!

The e-mail address? MarkBausch@aol.com