A funny thing happened on the way to the truth; the facts were taken out of context.

Journalists are accused often of taking statements out of context and running quotes which might skew the true nature of a story. Such accusations are baseless, more often than not, and most of us in the media take such attacks for what they are and forget about them.

Shrug it off, we think, but its not so easy when were the ones being taken out of context. After all, payback is hell.

In the past few weeks, commercials opposed to tort reform have been airing on local television stations. Its not surprising that the battle over tort reform is heating up. Millions of dollars are at stake, and both sides are convinced that their facts are the right facts. But, in fact, both sides make good arguments and its impossible to break down this complex issue into one neat and tidy clichœ no matter how hard the combatants try.

We do not believe that the histrionics attached to the tort reform issue will do much good. Finger-pointing results rarely in sound public policy or legislation.

However, as we have stated in this space, in columns and in public comments, the Mississippi Business Journal favors reform to our states civil justice system. We are pro-tort reform, and we do believe that this "jackpot justice" mess has tarnished our states reputation and helped to create the perception, in the very least, of an anti-business climate. So, it was with irritated amusement that we watched our MBJ masthead and a quote from one of our stories, taken out of context, end up in that anti-tort reform TV advertisement.

Not a lot we can do about it, of course, but it certainly has caused us to think long and hard about fairness, balance and putting things in their proper context.

We dont mind being dragged into this tort reform debate, although we prefer the role of reasonably objective observer. However, we will not let our positions on important issues be misrepresented by manipulative interest groups.

Once again, for the record: Mississippi needs tort reform. Thats what we believe is in the best interests of our states businesses, industries and for future economic development.