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| OUR VOICE |
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| Written by PI Editorial Staff | |
| Friday, 24 October 2008 | |
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Let’s clear some things up There seems to be a misunderstanding on the part of some of our readers, and we think it’s mostly our fault. In two of the letters to the editor running in this issue, references are made to the Irrigator’s ties to Tracy. These letters both came in response to our endorsement last week of Luis Molina for mayor of Patterson. One of these letters suggests that because of our “Tracy perspective,” we might not have a full grasp of the disdain Patterson residents feel for the West Park project. The other states that locals should not make their choice for mayor based on “leadership qualities and charisma perceived by out-of-town editors.” Normally, such claims might be rebuked solely with an editor’s note, but because of our own culpability in this misunderstanding, we thought we should address it more directly. Our masthead, the little box below the Voice logo on this page, lists the members of our editorial board. These are the people mostly responsible for determining the content and composition of our editorials, like the one you’re reading right now. Unfortunately, that little box hadn’t been updated for a while — years, even. And none of us noticed how outdated it was. Yes, Robert S. Matthews is still our publisher and the publisher of the Tracy Press. And yes, he does still weigh in on editorials. But Tracy Press editor Cheri Matthews and Irrigator publisher emeritus Ron Swift have not had a day-to-day role in the editorial process here for some time. The Irrigator’s general manager, Carol Scoles, and its managing editor, James Leonard, make the editorial decisions along with the publisher. They both work in Patterson every day and approach editorials from a Patterson perspective. Our masthead has been updated to reflect this. And we hope this removes any confusion about the nature of our editorials. One other issue raised over the past week is that of political endorsements. Some have claimed that the Irrigator has never made endorsements of political candidates and shouldn’t have started now, especially with such a hotly contested mayoral campaign. Others have stated that newspapers in general should not make such endorsements because the practice is unethical. The truth of the matter is that newspapers have historically made political endorsements and used to be quite straightforward about their political biases. Many newspapers proclaimed their political leanings in their nameplates. Most have altered their names over the years, such as the Arizona Republic, which used to be the Arizona Republican. But some, like the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, have kept their names. These, days political commentary is kept almost entirely on editorial pages and out of news reporting and editing. Editors go to great lengths to ensure that no political bias is found in the reporting of the news. That is the standard of this paper, as it is with most of the papers in this country. And yes, the Irrigator has made endorsements for as long as we can remember. Although this latest one likely ranks among the most difficult — and most important — in recent memory. ROBERT S. MATTHEWS, Publisher Carol Scoles, General Manager James Leonard, Managing Editor The Patterson Irrigator, established in 1911, is mailed Wednesday and Saturday. Editorials reflect the opinion of the editorial board. Other items reflect the opinions of the individual writers. Letters to the editor may be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .; mailed to the Irrigator at 26 N. Third St., Patterson 95363; or faxed to 892-3761. Signed letters of fewer than 300 words that deal with public issues will be given preference. Letters will be edited for clarity, length and civility. Routine thank-you letters will not be published.
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