By Jason Sethre, Publisher
Fillmore County Journal
jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com
As we march towards Election Day, I want to make sure our readers are aware that, from July 1 to November 5, we will not publish Letters to the Editor or Guest Commentaries that are for or against any candidates running for office.
We’ve always had this policy in place leading up to elections, so this commentary is simply a reminder.
Some people ask why we have that restriction, so I’ll give you an example for reference.
We recently received a “Letter to the Editor” from someone claiming to be from our area.
Whenever we receive a contentious commentary submission, we will seek to verify that this person lives in our newspaper coverage area of Fillmore, Houston or Mower counties. Over the years, we have received submissions from people claiming to live in Lanesboro, Chatfield, Canton, or any of our communities, and it turns out they live in the Twin Cities or even another state. Some people don’t say where they are from, so we have to dig for answers.
Our assistant editor replied to the email from the person submitting a commentary that demonized a candidate. We just wanted to verify this person lived in our area, and asked for a phone number and address. We immediately received an autoreply email with an email address from a company known as www.newmode.net.
So, our assistant editor and I took a look at this website. The person submitting an editorial to us was apparently subscribing to a service that specializes in campaign letter writing and the distribution of that information to media outlets like ours. As I looked closer at this website, I saw that they have a staff of 15 people. They must be doing quite a bit of business in the campaign world to justify having that many people on staff.
As a newspaper publisher, this is very concerning. Where is the authenticity of individual thought? This is like having the smartest kid in your class write a paper for you and pass it off as your work to get a good grade. I can only imagine that AI (artificial intelligence) will make this practice even more prevalent and undistinguishable in the future.
And, this is why newspapers have to be on guard. We have to be skeptical, especially around election time. There has to be a vetting process. And, it’s not easy. I get yelled at on the phone and I receive viscous emails about how I’m not providing a platform for free speech.
Of course, we believe in free speech. But the “free” part has become ambivalent.
First off, when we see letter writing campaigns flood our email inbox all with the same message but slightly different language, that tells us that this is an organized effort. It’s a red flag. Somebody is “writing” a letter and another person is signing their name to that letter – in multiplicity. That’s just wrong.
Second, while nearly 19,000 households receive this newspaper for free, it does come at a significant cost each week. Due to increasing costs with printing, postage, and payroll, space in the newspaper is at a premium. Every inch of newsprint in this newspaper is considered valuable real estate. It’s free to the public, but it does come at a cost. Over the years, we’ve seen political interest groups purchasing ads with other media, but then they want their message to appear in our newspaper free of charge.
With all that said, we won’t be used by any political party striving to reach the masses with free publicity on our commentary pages, especially leading up to Election Day. For those who want to advocate for or against a candidate, from July 1 until November 5, they will need to purchase advertisements no different than if they wanted their message to appear on a billboard, on TV, or on the radio.
We know that the power of print is one of the most influential forms of communication in our region. It’s a tactile and engaging experience. The newspaper evokes conversation, and because everyone receives the same information presented the exact same way, it becomes a common denominator of connectivity between our communities.
June says
Very strange policy.