We
recently received a letter from one of our readers criticizing our
Letters To The Editor section. The sender felt the LTTE section was
slanted towards the “Village” and it was one sided. There was no
room for opposing views. In fact our reader said, “People were
afraid to express their opinions for fear of being ridiculed or
blasted!” Wow, are we guilty as charged?
Our three person
Editorial Board met and spent considerable time discussing our LTTE
section and here are our conclusions:
The rules we follow for
our LTTE section are pretty clearly stated
at the top of the section, but there’s more to the story.
First off, we never edit a LTTE in any way. We post them, warts
and all in their entirety, just the way we receive them. Once up,
they stay up until we decide to pull them down because they’ve
either been up long enough, or the issues being discussed are no
longer pertinent, i.e., a vote has taken place.
If a sender decides they want to change a letter that’s already
been published, we won’t do it. The sender has two choices... At
their request, we’ll either leave the letter as is, or we’ll
permanently take it down. We won’t allow editing of a letter after
it’s been published.
When we receive a LTTE, it’s reviewed by
each member of our Editorial Review Board. If all three agree that
the letter follows our guidelines, as stated on the LTTE section,
the letter goes up. If any of the members of the Board has a problem
with the letter, it’s rejected and isn’t published.
You’ll
notice that we don’t evaluate LTTE letters for content. We don’t
have to agree with the ideas the sender is expressing. The LTTE
section is YOUR section. YOU decide what content appears in the LTTE
section and here’s the important part. In any given year, over the
past 17 years, there might have been ONE, LTTE letter, rejected and
not published. In fact, the number is probably a total of four or
five over the 17 year period. Why is the number so low? Because
you’ve all been very good about following our guidelines.
Are
their exceptions? Rarely, but yes, If we publish a letter from
sender “A” and sender “B” then writes in disagreeing with “A,” we’ll
allow “A” to respond to “B.” If “B” wants to then respond to “A’s”
response, we’ll allow it, but that’s it. No “cat fights” are allowed
and “flaming” letters would have never been allowed in the first
place. The LTTE section is a place to express YOUR ideas and
feelings. It’s not a place to debate on and on with no end in site
or to attack one another.
Bellport.com serves the South
Country area, Bellport Village, North Bellport, Brookhaven Hamlet,
and East Patchogue. If we seem to be focusing more on Bellport
Village, it’s probably because more of our readers from the Village
send us letters and Bellport Village is the commercial center of the
South Country area. The same is true for our Seen & Heard and Late
Breaking News sections. If we get more information, we’ll print more
information.
It all boils down to this. The LTTE section is a
reflection of what you, our readers, are thinking and want to share.
We can’t, and shouldn’t, generate content for the LTTE section. If
it seems lopsided in one direction or another, it’s either because
our community is leaning in one direction or another, or that more
of you should go to your keyboards and let your neighbors know what
you think.
If you have a comment and would like to
respond to any of the above, we'd be glad to consider printing your
response. Please send your comments to
larry@bellport.com. You can
read the comments we receive on our Letters
To The Editor page.
Sincerely,
Larry Sribnick
Editor/Publisher,
Bellport.com