As spring comes along, the joy new life brings may be short lived, as we are reminded the November election is coming up faster than we think.
Over the past few years, we have attempted to find a balance on the editorial page between allowing people to voice their opinions and trying to keep some level of respectful debate. When we made the rules strict, we were left with very few letters. When we relax the rules, we are met with an abundance of letters, the majority of which are about national issues or figures that the authors do not draw a local connection to.
Before the full political season erupts, we are discussing making a change to our letters policy again in an effort to make sure issues are presented in a civil manner. Our initial thought is not print letters that only discuss presidential candidates or issues, unless the writer brings a local impact or significance to the piece. If you have any feedback on what works and what doesn’t, email editor@lcnme.com.
During some conversations with members of the public, it has come to our attention that some may not have a complete understanding of the differences in content printed in the paper, resulting in some unfortunate misconceptions.
Articles written by our newspaper’s reporters have a byline identifying the writer(s), as well as the fact that they work for LCN. Through content-sharing agreements, we may print articles from other publications, which we identify through similar means.
Press releases and other submissions from community members are identified with “Submitted article.” These pieces are not staff generated, though they may be edited for clarity, length, and/or style.
Columns are written by the dedicated volunteers whose work helps make the paper more enjoyable for all to read. Many columns have a standing head and/or a byline. Columns do not reflect the views of the newspaper staff.
Advertisements, in most cases, appear in a box to be distinguished from written copy. Political advertising will have a heading identifying it as such and will contain who paid for the space. Advertising is paid space – it does not reflect any views of the LCN staff.
This leaves us with opinion pieces, which can be found on page six and sometimes grouped together on other pages when extra space is needed. The editorial, in the upper left of page six, is the space where newspaper management or ownership expresses opinion. All other opinion pieces – letters to the editor, commentary, or “From the Legislature” columns – are submitted from members of the community.
Letters to the editor, which always begin with “To the editor,” are opinions solely held and expressed by the respective writer(s). The name and town of residence of the author(s) of a letter must be included. The topic of letters, the political leaning of the letters, and all subject matter contained is an expression of opinion from the writer, and in no way reflects the opinions of the LCN staff.
Our staff works tremendously hard to bring unbiased community journalism to life each week. We would just appreciate being judged for work that is performed by staff, and let others be judged by their opinions.
