As we edge increasingly into what is likely to be a hard-fought campaign for the future of America, we want to explain how we handle letters to the editor. We accept letters and will typically publish those that address topics relevant to readers and that are fact-based.
In an era of pervasive misinformation and disinformation, we will be scrutinizing letters from every perspective and may require letter contributors to provide documentation for “fact” claims that are questionable. We’ve been doing that already, for years, but it is apparent that such a policy is more critical than ever in this current election cycle.
For centuries, it has been the role of responsible editors to serve as gatekeepers of information. That doesn’t mean weeding out those letters with which we might disagree. It means weeding out those letters that make fact claims that are misleading or false.
Letter writers are free to express their opinions about candidates, but not make claims about candidates that are untrue or lack sufficient foundation.
Responsible newspapers are not the equivalent of Facebook, Tik-Tok, or X, where individuals are free to post false claims or pass on conspiracy theories to advance their political agendas. And the day that newspapers begin to operate that way is the day that our representative form of government reaches it end point. As our founders recognized, government of, by, and for the people, can only survive when the majority of the voting public is accurately informed, which is why they enshrined freedom of the press in the First Amendment. Despite the many changes in technology and media generally in recent years, reputable newspapers remain the most in-depth and accurate source of news and information available to the voting public.
We support the free exchange of ideas, in the belief that the American public will make its best voting decisions when it understands the beliefs and policy preferences of the candidates under consideration. But conspiracy theories about stolen elections aren’t “ideas.” That’s propaganda, put out by grifters and/or individuals or organizations with a political agenda and such claims won’t be appearing in this newspaper because we’re not in the propaganda business. We’re in the news business.
And while we are a business, we don’t charge for most letters to the editor because we disagree with the Supreme Court’s view that money equals speech. The lack of money should not keep anyone from taking part in the public debate and it won’t be an impediment to most letter writers who wish to contribute to the Timberjay.
That said, we allow each candidate for office just one letter advancing their candidacy, while any additional letters are considered campaign advertising, for which we charge. In addition, a letter writer who submits letters weekly or nearly so may not appear each time, particularly as the letters pages fill up over the next months. Fairness suggests giving other people an opportunity to make their arguments as well.
As always, we encourage letter writers to make their arguments succinctly and try to limit their missives to 300 words or less. Longer letters are more likely to be subjected to extensive editing, particularly as the number of letters continues to increase as we head toward the fall election.