Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 2 · column 1 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
Let The People Decide
(An editorial by the publisher of Rappahannock News)
A country newspaper is many things to many peoph but cannot be all things to all people. Last week's editioi of Rappahannock News was no exception, resulting ir several telephone calls to the publisher demanding redresj for news items concerning actions of the Board of Sup ervisors and exposure of authors of several Letters’ t< the Editor.
The publisher sincerely apologizes for the letters tc the extent that they were not written by this newspapei nor was it intended to give the impression that the view* expressed therein were necessarily the sentiments of th« staff. However, it has and will continue to be the policy of the paper that a contributor of a letter may have Hi: name withheld upon request though we would not recom mend this. As Voltaire said, “Though I disagree with whai . you say, I shall defend with my life your right to say it.’ And it would be far more honorable to offer someone who is subjected to criticism a chance of rebuttal. But to some who feel that there may exist an element foi reprisal in other forms, the paper will continue to support an author’s anonomity if he so desires.
A point to be remembered by those who hold polit ical office is that again and again in courts throughout the land it has been upheld that these offices must be pre pared to be often subjected to the harshest kind of crit icism, for they, too, cannot be all things to all people anc are fair game for any pundit who cares, to oppose theii views or their actions.
Nevertheless, while we hold that a newspaper’s sub scribers and their comments are its life's blood, and at al times value, encourage, and welcome their comments ol whatever nature, we would issue a reminder of the dan gers of libel as well as the futileness of unconstructiv* criticism.
In refuting the charge of "slanting” or "biasing' news stories we would reply that this is a favorite accu sation against all editors. Perhaps we have been overzealous. We shall try to do better. But it is too easily said in a telephone message that "everybody" is talking about it, or “ask anybody.” We should like to ask you our subscribers, about what YOU think YOUR news
rper .should be.
Let us hear from you.
—Angus M. Green " *" i
79.9%