Staying out of politics in small towns, not an option for a local newspaper

In a small town, most business owners try to keep their heads down when it comes to politics. While business owners are often engaged in their communities, you don’t always see them running for positions like the city or village council, and most of them shun any kind of controversy.

Good business means staying out of politics—at least that’s the view in most small towns.

That view doesn’t work very well, however, for at least one business in town— the local newspaper. Imagine though, a newspaper that didn’t report on controversial items. Or one that shied away from criticizing local officials when they feel, in their opinion based on covering the issue week in and week out, that the public’s trust has been violated.

Or imagine a newspaper that just kept its head down and avoided tough stories for fear of people canceling their subscriptions or refusing to buy their newspaper off the newsstand.

An appointed official snarled at our editor at a recent meeting and said, “You are to report both sides of the story. We’re not the audience, we’re taxpayers.” It was clear this person felt our newspaper is biased. Or the truth just didn’t look right to him in print.

He has a right to tell us we are biased, unfair and not trustworthy. He must believe strongly in his position, that we were wrong. He has that right and I’d challenge anyone who would say otherwise.

Some newspapers avoid controversy entirely. And, such newspapers certainly do exist—it just isn’t clear why.

Newspapers are supposed to make a difference to the people and the communities they serve, and they can’t do that when they’re afraid to have a different opinion than some of their readers or those at a public meeting.

Could you imagine a newspaper that didn’t dare take a stand or was afraid to report on an issue because it may make our government or a group of citizens angry?

Our founding fathers understood this, which is why they saw fit to protect freedom of the press in the First Amendment of the Constitution. They understood government or concerned citizens without the check of a watchdog like the press would quickly grow unaccountable and dictatorial.

I’m not suggesting that newspapers know better than anyone else or better than government. Newspapers are made up of people, and people will make mistakes, that comes with the territory. Spelling errors, sources feeling they were misquoted or misunderstood, they all are part of our business. It happens and it’s a risk we run as newspaper people. Few are perfect in any profession. Any one of us could point to an opinion expressed by a columnist, a letter writer or an editor that was “unfair,” “slanted,” or simply “wrong.” But then again, it comes with the territory.

It’s very important that newspapers are willing to challenge the actions of governments or concerned citizens, regardless of how well intentioned, without the fear of consequences. It is the newspaper’s job to poke and prod, and to criticize when necessary, because that promotes accountability.

The watchdog role of newspapers is an important one. It’s also a thankless task. That is especially true in small towns, where the local newspaper is expected to fill the role as a community booster, a chronicler of day to day life, from school spelling bees to church bazaars and birth announcements.

I’ve seen stories and editorials I knew were going to anger people and in some cases they could pit neighbor against neighbor. I don’t like it, but this newspaper has always held true to its responsibility. It’s often a balancing act. Lean too heavily toward being just that community booster and you lose reader credibility. Lean too far in the other direction and the newspaper is accused of biased reporting and unfair editorials. Critical editorial stances offer those risks, and we understand that well.

Have we done a good job of balancing our various roles? That’s not for me to decide.

I’ll never forget the advice of our founding publisher, Marty Heim, “In this business,” he would tell me, “fifty-percent of the readers are going to put you on a pedestal higher than you deserve and the other fifty-percent will curse you. Most times you can’t win, but never be afraid of speaking your mind and doing your job.”

No, we are not like other businesses, and we take that responsibility on our shoulders willingly. Love us or hate us, we are your local paper and we will do our job of tackling tough stories when we have to.

Contact Randy at rjorgensen@pageone-inc.com