“Why on earth do you own a paper?” concluded an email thread from a rather agitated My Sun Day News reader, who was upset with us over the nature of the content of the letters we’ve published recently. In an earlier email by the same reader, I was told “You are part of the problem in this country” along with an accusation of biased reporting.
In a few moments, I’m going to tell you why I own a newspaper. But before I do, I need to briefly discuss the anatomy of one. This one in particular.
My Sun Day News publishes three major forms of written content. They are:
• News Stories (which include features, previews, profiles, and general coverage)
• Columns
• Submissions
News Stories are stories that are assigned by our editors or gathered by our reporters. They are ALWAYS setoff by a byline, such as this:
and either include a dateline before the first word of the first sentence or have a larger first letter of the first word (often in MSDN blue). News stories typically also have a photo accompaniment.
Columns are pieces hyper-focused on the topics of which the writers are experts or know a great deal about or have a very keen interest in, like The Dining Duo. They are usually setoff with a byline box that features the columnists’ smiling mug along with his/her name, which is clearly labeled columnist. Here’s TR Kerth’s for example:
Submissions are anything that comes into the paper FROM READERS that we publish. Submissions include letters, blurbs, and sometimes local coverage in the form of a story and/or photo or both. I need to stress that submissions are SUBMITTED material and not generated by MSDN staff, columnists, or official contributors. Submission text sometimes looks different, is often much shorter, and is labeled as a Resident Reporter or Political Place or Hang Your Hat (both of these are usually opinionated letters), News Quicks, Quick Shots, or You’re Invited. Here’s the Hang Your Hat label:
Submissions seem to also cause most of the confusion among readers that ultimately leads to messages being sent to us that read: “Why on earth do you own a paper?”
Every few years (not coincidentally aligned with election years), we get a flurry of emails (and sometimes calls) from readers who sling numerous insults on our “slanted” or “bias” reporting, claiming that we’re one side of the aisle or the other. Or that we support one side of an issue or another.
We DON’T.
Slide your finger up a few inches to the submissions section above, specifically where it says “highly opinionated letters” in the parenthetical.
Letters.
Again, these are opinions submitted by readers that we publish and are not, and are not to be confused with, news stories. For nearly fifteen years, My Sun Day News has dedicated and prided itself on publishing completely unbiased news stories. Whenever we hire a reporter (not to be confused with a columnist), we specifically tell them that their opinions are not allowed. We approach every angle to a story equally and allow all we speak to their voice to be heard.
We give voice to EVERYONE, no matter their position or opinion on a certain matter and we publish only what we receive, so if you’re upset that some of our letters lean more one way or the other, it’s only because we haven’t received opinions that counter yours. We don’t withhold letters due to content unless they’re too graphic, vulgar, or profane to print. Other than that, our pages are pretty much fair game. Of course, we are bound by space constraints, so a letter may never run, but for the ones that do, we still only have whatever we’ve received to choose from. So if you’re upset because you see letters that carry opinions that don’t match yours, send in your opinions. We’ll publish them because everyone’s voice is equal and deserves equal attention. We don’t, never have, and never will silence anyone. This is why I own a newspaper. Because I value everyone’s perspective and believe everyone’s voice should be heard.
In fact, in my years as a journalist, the only people whom I’ve ever seen silenced are those who silence themselves:
“Is this intended for publication?” I asked the agitated reader from above.
To which the reader replied: “No, not this one!”
