On one basic premise, Media Matters and I agree: Leonard Pitts Jr. is a very popular columnist with a broad and faithful audience.

Pitts draws full houses when he comes to Greensboro and his following crosses racial and ideological lines.

His column following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 evoked one of the most positive and sustained responses from readers I’ve ever seen.

What’s more, he’s a genuinely nice guy who’s conversant on everything from comic books and P-Funk to religion and global politics. He doesn’t huff and puff with self-importance, despite that Pulitzer Prize on his mantle.

If I wanted to cause a reader insurrection in Greensboro, all I’d need to do is yank either Pitts or Thomas Friedman from the paper. I’d have to leave town. Fast.

So, I buy it when Media Matters cites Pitts as the second-most popular syndicated columnist in North Carolina (George Will ranked first). (more…)