Government and religion should be kept separate, or at least that's what we are told, and the principle is often referenced as "separation of church and state."

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are credited with strongly supporting the concept that government involvement tends to result in the restraint of religion; they said as much in the 793-word Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom they co-wrote in 1779.

And, of course, the First Amendment to the Constitution proclaims that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …"

Some scholars will claim, however, that the intent of the separation was not to build a wall between the two, only to make sure the church - the public's fundamental right of religious choice - was not controlled by the state. In other words, the state does not have to be devoid of religion, it simply can't control religion, or, I suppose some might suggest, be controlled by religion.

But as I sometimes reference in this column, that's another topic for another day and not a path I am traveling today.

In the newspaper business, there is also a sort of separation of church (news) and state (advertising). In other words, one shouldn't control or dictate to the other. That doesn't mean they are mutually exclusive. Pick up any daily circulation mainstream newspaper, and news and advertising will be integral parts of the package.

That's the way it should be. But the influence one has over the other should be nil.

Clearly, as the editor of the newspaper, I'm a news guy. And even though I thoroughly enjoy searching newspaper ads for quality merchandise, deals and near steals, I have no interest in controlling advertising message. Likewise, advertising directors should not seek to control, influence or color news content.

While there is a physical wall separating my office and Advertising Director Kristin Wilson's office, there isn't a locked door or chained gate that keeps us apart. We don't sneer at one another in the halls or try to leverage our respective disciplines. We understand, respect and support the reality that we have different functions at tThe Tribune, but that we have the same goal - provide relevant, interesting and necessary products, news and information for readers and advertisers.

It is a worthy objective but a process that can get muddled from time to time. We fight the barriers and traditions of the past - walls that rise and fall depending on people and personalities. We find our way through the changing media landscape and business models. But the real truth is reciprocal: News reporters and news consumers can learn from ad sales people and advertisers, and, ad folks can learn from news folks.

Some great story ideas come from advertisers and ad sales people. And some great ad ideas and campaigns can come from news people. The path to fruition on any front, however - to taking the bait and landing the whopper - is the presentation from one to another.

That's a lesson for any business consideration. How we think and how we treat each other - the ones we work with day in and day out - has much to do with the level of satisfaction of all of our customers, from news junkies to shopaholics.

It's all about attitude. Take Johnny the Bagger. I'm not sure if this is a true story or not; but if not, it should be.

Johnny was encouraged by a supermarket consultant, as were all of the store's employees, to put his personal signature on his job. Johnny, who was born with Down Syndrome, wasn't sure how he could do that. After all, he thought, he was just a bagger.

He thought and thought about it and decided that whenever he had a good thought, he'd type it up, make copies, sign the back and put a copy in every customer's grocery bag.

Before long, Johnny's line was full of regulars, who wouldn't go to another checkout stand because they looked forward to Johnny's "Thought for the Day."

In tribute to Johnny's reasoning, here's a thought for today, from a long-ago day, by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov:

"The more simply we look at ticklish questions, the more placid will be our lives and relationships."

(You can reach editor John Irby at 250-8266 or john.irby@bismarcktribune.com and go to www.bismarcktribune.com/blog/?w=thepaper&e_id=2671/ to read his blog.)