Determination 56: Rep. Don Frerichs v. Dodge County Independent
Representative Don Frerichs (District 32A) suggested that the News Council consider the handling of letters to the editor during election campaigns. Although Frerichs’ suggestion was not in the form of a grievance, the Council agreed that the subject deserved discussion. Present at the Council hearing were Representative Frerichs, Representative Jerry Schoenfield (District 30B), and Randy Carlsen, editor of the Dodge County Independent.
The incident giving rise to this discussion illustrates a common problem presented to newspapers. Frerichs submitted a letter to the editor to the Dodge County Independent for inclusion in its last issue prior to the November 6, 1984 election. The letter was critical of the voting record of incumbent Jerry Schoenfeld. Schoenfeld happened to be in the newspaper office prior to press time and asked if any letters attacking his record would be in the next issue. He was shown the Frerichs letter. Schoenfeld then asked the editor if he could submit a letter in rebuttal, and this request was granted. Frerichs has no objection to the printing of the Schoenfeld rebuttal, which he says is only fair. His concern, however, is that the “[Rebuttal] letter was four times longer than mine, and raised new points that I had no chance to respond to.”
The Council is not concerned with the factual merits of this specific incident and, indeed, does not have before it the two letters to the editor involved. The Council notes Representative Schoenfeld’s claim that his letter was fair rebuttal. The Council, however, is here concerned with the general problem of handling letters to the editor. The Dodge County Independent has extended its regrets to Frerichs and advises “it has become a policy of our paper not to show any letters to the editor, editorial content or advertisements to anyone prior to publication.”
Discussion: Letters to the editor can be a very effective campaign tool, sometimes more effective than political advertising and campaign literature. Letters to the editor tend to be well read by the newspapers’ readers. Knowing this, political committees organize letter-writing campaigns and jockey for the “last word.” Like anything else, carried too far, letters to the editor are subject to the law of diminishing returns.
Editors seek to obtain balance in the number of letters printed by the opposing sides and on the issues presented. At some point, editorial discretion must cut off the “debate.” Important, too, is the timing of letters to the editor. The problem with “last-minute” political communiquŽs, where new charges are raised without time for a response, is that the voters are deprived of having all the facts on which to make an informed decision.
Editors frequently reserve the right, announced in advance, to limit debate in the letters-to-the-editor column. The length of letters may also be restricted. Whether the editor should give one side an advance look at letters submitted by the opposing side would seem to be a policy decision for the newspaper to make. Some newspapers have a policy of always showing any last-minute letter or political ad to the opposing side, inviting a rebuttal in the same issue. One thing that might be done, and frequently is done, is to announce in advance a cut-off date for submission of letters to the editor, a time after which no more letters will be received for the last issue prior to the election.
The discussion before the News Council demonstrated that letters to the editor involve, to a large degree, the news judgment and editorial judgment of the editor. As with the making of any judgment, it is important to weigh all the facts and circumstances, keeping in mind that the newspaper is serving the interests of its public, not that of the campaign committee, and that the guiding principle is fairness. Many problems can be avoided if, where feasible, the newspaper announces in advance what its policy will be.
Tags: Dodge County Independent