Although it’s just April, you can already see the election-year rhetoric heating up. TV, radio, newspapers and the web are filling with vile references about candidates of every political persuasion.
It was on display in full force earlier this month, with the political grandstanding by senators at the United States Supreme Court hearings for Katanji Brown.
As has been the policy of AuSable Media over the years, we will accept paid political advertisements in the primary and general elections, as well as letters to the editor.
However, we will not allow our pages to overflow with the traditional letters and ads you see in other publications or websites. The ones where people use words and images to attack candidates based on their political party, a few words taken out of context, or even the brand of car they drive.
Our business philosophy is to help build and strengthen communities. We will not undermine that by being part of the angry political rhetoric that permeates politics on both sides of the aisle. That isn’t what we’re about.
We offer our readers coverage that is unique and vital to the area. And the positive way we cover the community is what our readers and advertisers tell us they like the most.
Going forward, we want to make our editorial and advertising policy clear regarding elections:
If you have a letter of support for someone, we will run it. If you’re a candidate, we’ll run your political ad for you. However, if a letter or ad includes information on, or identifies the other candidate, or any members of the opposition party, we will not run either.
Other excluded items include hot-button social issues such as abortion, COVID, or negative cultural references. How do we define “negative cultural references?” Similar to the way United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did when he described his threshold for obscenity in 1964, “I know it when I see it.”
Just talk about the strengths and experience of your candidate. If they can’t win based on their character, background, and integrity, they don’t deserve to be elected anyway.
Although this policy has been costly for us over the years in terms of revenue, we’ve grown comfortable with it. It’s ethical and responsible. And, in our way, we hope this will help elevate the political dialogue in our little corner of the United States.
Thank you for reading!
(Note: UpNorthVoice.com will run word-counted candidate profiles prior to general election, or primary as necessary. Political letters are limited to 200 words. Depenping on the number of letters, or if you live outside of the print area of AuSable Media, letters will be run online. Please send letters to info@upnorthvoice.com)
