The Republic’s Opinion page is too liberal!
The Republic’s Opinion page is too conservative!
We get that, what with our print and web Opinion pages being forums for a variety of points of view.
And you know what? The people saying these things are not wrong. On any given day, we publish viewpoints from writers across the political and thought spectrum. The more the better, in our view.
We may publish something people will find objectionable. We also may publish something that makes people say, “Amen!”
And you know what? The very same piece will evoke those diverse responses, depending on the reader.
What you are reading now, this editorial, represents the institutional voice of The Republic. Here, The Republic expresses viewpoints that we believe are in keeping with our mission to inform and enlighten readers.
The Republic’s founding editor, Isaac T. Brown, laid out that mission in 1875. He wrote:
“We shall endeavor to make our paper the champion of the people of Bartholomew County and we shall advocate, irrespective of political considerations, all measures that have for their objective the good of the community. In short, we hope to make our paper such that no intelligent person in the county can do without it.”
We at The Republic honor this mission and challenge ourselves daily to be worthy stewards, whether in print or online. And with regard to our Opinion pages, we do confess a bias:
We prefer local opinion submissions. “Irrespective of political considerations,” as Isaac Brown wrote nearly 150 years ago.
Barrels of ink have been spilled reporting about the decline of local news and community journalism. It’s beyond debate that we face significant challenges.
And you know what? For storytellers, we are pretty darned lousy at telling our own story. A lot of the causes of decline, if you ask us, are self-inflicted. Too many newspapers have abandoned Opinion pages. They fail to advocate or provide their readers a reliable forum to do so. We believe this is fundamentally misguided.
We confess another bias: The truth. Unlike the ceaseless maelstrom that is social media, we have a responsibility — which we do not consider an undue burden — to check the facts before publishing. We take this seriously, because it is our value proposition. It defines all we do and maps our mission.
Within these guidelines, the Republic Opinion pages are open to, and biased in favor of, the readers of this community. We welcome your submissions and invite you to have your say here on issues important to you and our community.
Send letters to the editor and guest column submissions to [email protected]. We publish these in the order received and require a phone number for verification. Letters may be no longer than 500 words. Guest columns should be limited to 700 words. Letters that advocate voting for or against a candidate or political party require a fee before publication.
Have a question? Email Opinion page editor Dave Stafford at [email protected] or call 812-379-5639.
As we look forward to a new year, we also look forward to hearing from you and sharing your views with our thousands of local readers. For the good of the community.
