Some policy housekeeping as campaign coverage steps up

With Labor Day behind us, we are in the thick of the General Election campaign season, so it seems a good time to revisit some issues readers and candidates should keep in mind about election coverage. To wit:

• A coverage request: Let’s start with an important housekeeping matter for us. A fundamental goal of our coverage, whether it be through traditional-form news stories or candidate questionnaires we publish in print and online, is to provide balanced information on all candidates. We face obstacles on this goal with every election because candidates are not required to include campaign contact information, especially an email address, with their filing documents. They’re allowed to voluntarily now and some do, but not all, often making it complicated and difficult to track them down. When we are unable to reach them, we can’t submit questionnaires or invite them to editorial board meetings or even contact them for responses to things their opponents may say or do. We’re well into the process now, but still we are chasing some stragglers. So, if you’re a candidate or a campaign manager who wants your story told — and in your own words, in the case of questionnaires — please send your contact information to us as soon as possible at elections@dailyherald.com. If you’re a voter who wants to know more about candidates, push your representatives to support a law requiring campaign contact information with candidate filings.

• Endorsements: Members and representatives of our editorial board are working now to schedule interviews with candidates. Along with questionnaires and other research, these form an important part of our research as we give voters some additional things to think about as they analyze campaigns. Although many newspapers have stopped doing endorsements because dwindling resources make them more difficult, we continue to consider them an important component of our coverage, so we’ll not only begin publishing endorsements themselves in early October, we’ll also be posting videos of our candidate interviews so you can see them in action directly and come to your own conclusions.

• Letters to the editor: Soon, our mailbox will be filling with letters from supporters of various candidates for county offices, legislature, Congress and president, as well as some other offices and community referendums. We strive to publish as many of these letters as space permits, and, depending on what we receive, we make special efforts to ensure that letters we publish reflect all candidates in a race. If you plan to write a letter, note that our last date to publish will be on the Friday before the election — that is, Friday, Nov. 1. It takes time to get all the letters in, however, so even though we open up more letters space in the final week before the election, letters that arrive during that week may not make it to publication. The more you are able to get such letters to us by the last week in October, the better your chances of seeing your thoughts and ideas in print and online.

• Speaking of letters: Make sure yours includes your full name, hometown and (not for publication) a phone number where we can reach you if necessary. We do not publish anonymous letters, because, among other reasons, writers’ identities help assure they have more accountability — and to some degree more civility — with what they say. Even so, keep in mind that we do not have the resources to fact check every claim letter writers make. We reject letters with outrageous statements that are difficult or impossible to verify, but before you believe any claims that may sway your vote, make sure to know the source and the context. Letters cannot be longer than 300 words, and the more succinct you can be, the better your chances of publication. And, candidates, their immediate families and their campaigns are prohibited from having letters published, so the space remains a public forum, not a campaign tool.

Politics, we all know only too well, can be an ugly business. But it also can be invigorating and encouraging as we examine the qualities of people willing to make the huge sacrifices public office requires and reflect on the potential impact of their leadership on our future. Use this time well. We’ll do our best to help you make decisions that give you confidence and hope.

• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. His new book “Conversations, community and the role of local news” is available at eckhartzpress.com.