Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013 Editorial • Newspapers are a vital instrument of free speech

Publisher’s note: This editorial originally appeared in the Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013 issue of the Lassen County Times.

It has been said that a good newspaper is a community talking to itself, and that is our goal here at the Lassen County Times. Each week we try to print a snapshot of our community — the good, the bad and the controversial.

Sometimes readers ask us why we allow unpopular or radical opinions to be presented in the paper. We are accused of supporting a writer’s opinion based on the fact that we chose to publish it, as if printing someone’s opinion legitimizes it.

Our stance has always been to let our reader’s voices be heard. We believe a newspaper’s role is not, nor should it be, to decide which opinions are published. A fair newspaper should treat different opinions in such a way that no opinion is unduly favored or put at a disadvantage.

Reporting about an event is a different story altogether.

In our reporting we work hard to make sure our reporters’ personal opinions are never distinguishable in the news stories they write. That isn’t always easy to do because we all have opinions. But when we report about an event, our job is to put the facts out there and let you, the reader, decide for yourself.

Unlike some of the national media, we try to not lean toward the left or the right. Our staff represents a pretty dynamic cross-section of political views. We don’t endorse political candidates for any office — even on the rare occasion when we all agree.

We may endorse an idea, a measure or a cause, but not a candidate.

But that doesn’t mean we won’t allow people with differing political views or ideas a platform to be heard. To deny community members their voice would be a form of censorship.

Just like you, we don’t agree with every opinion that is printed in the paper. But, as long as the contributions are not libelous or in poor taste, we try to let the contributing writers speak. We let our readers decide if the letter writer has something useful to say.

For us, the price of providing a platform for free speech sometimes leads to an angry phone call, letter or email. We must be doing something right, because our paper has been labeled as both a mouthpiece for the Tea Party and a liberal rag.

Freedom of speech is a constitutional right. It is perhaps the most important ingredient of a strong democracy. Our founding fathers staked their lives on it almost 250 years ago.

Newspapers like this one play a vital role in providing a vehicle to exercise that freedom.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”