Thank you for exercising your right to Sound Off
By Andrew West
Delaware State News
DOVER — Some notes and quotes between headlines and
deadlines...
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So far this year, we have enjoyed the public discussions
that have been taking place on our Opinion pages. We believe those pages belong
to our readers, so you’ll not find us taking a stance on issues and telling our
readers what to think.
“Our role is to facilitate the community’s discussion of
public issues, draw people out, make sure the discussion is as open and
vigorous as possible, and keep it within the bounds of fair play,” we state in
our Newsroom Guidelines. Certainly, Delawareans have had plenty to discuss in
recent months.
Sometimes, it has been weighing in on a national issue like
health care or an international concern like the U.S. missile strikes on Syria.
But, mostly, we see a need to discuss local and statewide
issues.
The siege at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in January
has been one of the hottest topics. So have the salaries of state workers and
the wrangling over the state’s operating budget, what with a $380 million shortfall
in the headlines.
To capture this discussion, the Delaware State News has been
monitoring social media comments on our website, our Facebook and occasionally
the pages of Delaware’s elected officials.
The result can especially be seen in “Delaware Sound Off” —
a compilation of the variety of viewpoints.
In March, we published more than 230 Delaware Sound Off
comments from readers.
We also are enjoying numerous letters to the editor, and we
hope that our readers are, too.
Our pages are open to all sides of the arguments, but we ask
that you share your opinions in a civil manner.
We understand that our opinion page approach is different
from many daily newspapers.
Elsewhere, publishers and editors use their newspapers to
advance their own political views.
Here, we believe our public trust requires that we
facilitate community discussion, instead of dominating or stifling it. To
comment on stories at www.DelawareStateNews.net,
readers must use a Facebook registration.
