Last week I had lunch with a friend who follows my blog. We were discussing the Oakland Press paper and she asked me what I knew about the editorial page selections. Specifically, she wondered about the letters to the editor and guest opinions.
Well, I am the wrong person to ask. I am not the editor, but I have asked the same question of editors in the past. I remember calling an editor and asking him how they decided which letters to print. I was told that they printed almost everything they got, within reason, since some folks would write all the time. I was also told that the fact that they printed a letter did not mean they agreed with it.
I found my friend's inquiry rather pertinent when I saw an editorial last week about culling deer. Anyone who reads my blogs knows how tired I am of the destruction they have caused in my yard. But the majority of letters to the editor seem to be from nature lovers who would likely abandon Michigan to allow all the wildlife to take over. The editorial pointed out the errors of their thinking and supported the control of deer.
There are certain syndicated writers on the op/ed page that I always read and others I only read when I want a good laugh at their inanity. Likewise with folks who write 'guest opinions'. I am sure that the paper cannot agree with everyone who writes in, but they provide the opportunity to folks to have their say.
One just has to hope that at some point the editors form an opinion and write an editorial so we see where they stand on the issues.
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