Freedom of the press is a vital pillar of our western democratic systems and it has never, outside the strictures of war, been more under threat. That being said, it is also important that credible news sources remain as unbiased as humanly possible.
“News” coming through social media posts does not have that particular stricture. In fact, the internet age has ushered in a milieu where “alternate facts” and theories, conspiracy and other abound. The algorithms of social media platforms seek to reinforce the preconceived notions about what is true and what is not by feeding us what we want to hear in an echo chamber that brooks little diversity of thought.
Small wonder that people can entertain the most outrageous of “alternate facts,” a term made famous by US President Trump’s communications officer in his first term.
But true journalism must attempt, to the best of its ability, to winnow the chaff and misinformation, to unwind political spin and obfuscation and present something reasonably close to the unvarnished truth. It isn’t easy.
The workaday journalist spends an inordinate amount of time chasing rumours and tips that too often turn out to be ephemeral at best—but that’s our job and most of us take to it with a passion for objective truth.
There are two exceptions to that rule. The columnist and the editorial. Both come at the subject with a stated position. An interpretation of the facts that goes somewhat beyond the bare facts of the story to offer opinion.
These days, the so-called “news” items that appear in people’s social media feeds are actually columns—written to espouse a particular point of view, and not necessarily that of the news outlet itself.
But in truth, we are, at the end of the shift, all human beings (at least for now).
That is in part one of the important roles that a newspaper’s editorial page provides. An editorial, unlike a news story or feature article, comes at an issue with the opinion of the author, representing the publication. It is an interpretation of how, in this case, the newspaper, in gestalt, views an issue and offers what the writer believes is the proper course of action that should be taken to deal with it.
While being a considered opinion, an editorial remains at its core just that, an opinion. It serves a role in assisting the reader of the paper in understanding the perceptual screen of the publication. As much as professional journalists attempt to set aside their own views when writing about an issue or event that has taken place, that screen exists for all of us. The editorial is a (hopefully) clear statement of that viewpoint. On occasion, the editorial may even not reflect the personal opinion of the writer, as its role is to express the viewpoint of the publication and usually reflects that of the overall staff.
That is also why, contained within the editorial pages, letters expressing alternate opinions are important. They may, or may not, be, in line with how the paper perceives things, but they offer up an opportunity for readers to weigh in on the issues of the day and are just as important, perhaps even more important than the editorial expressed by the paper or any columnists contained within.
These days we are all too inundated with our own opinions being reflected back upon us.
The late, great, Peter Stickley, a conservative and very prolific writer of letters to the editor, more often reflected a different opinion than that of this paper’s editorial stance. But we published them as a matter of duty to our readership.
Mr. Stickley refrained from slander, liable and outright misinformation in his missives, offering up a different point of view that has every right to be heard—even if we disagree.
In that spirit, we highly encourage our readers to express their own opinions, as long as they stay within those lines.
In these days of echo chambers and misinformation, the role of an editorial page has rarely been more important. It is an opportunity to understand the perspective of the newspaper and to challenge, or reinforce the opinions expressed in the editorial itself.
It is sometimes remarked that The Expositor editorials are unsigned. There is a good reason for that. Our editorials express the opinions of our journalists and the paper as a whole. Each of us takes responsibility for the position taken in the written words.
We insist that letters to the editor are signed, however, as they are the expressed opinions of an individual writer.
So, the next time you disagree (or agree) with a position taken by the editorial you find on this page, or wish to call out something we have written you feel lies in the realm of opinion, not fact, then set pen to paper and set us straight. Communication between people with opposing views is also an important pillar of democracy.
