Editorial: Multiple viewpoints need to heard

A newspaper’s duty is not always popular. For instance, when an outlet makes an attempt to represent all viewpoints, it can sometimes alienate people all across the political spectrum. 

But we still think the Star-Observer should represent the full gamut of views.

We’ve heard complaints from subscribers about both right wing and left wing columns in our opinion section, so we wanted to take time to explain what it is we do, and the role opinion columns play in the paper. 

First off, the Star-Observer strives to be free of any political leaning outside of its opinion pages, and news and opinion remain separate in terms of coverage. Hopefully, our readers don’t think the news sections advocate for a specific political party. A reporter may still cover a Democratic or Republican politician or event, but that reporter will strive to make sure the piece is balanced and fair. We think journalism is best when it stands on its own, but we also think the community can be served by an opinion piece that advocates for a specific view, so long as news and opinion are considered separate entities. 

Secondly, Hudson is a special place where people of all different viewpoints come together. For residents, that also means being respectful of all viewpoints and being mindful of a community paper’s mission: to represent and report on its community. If we leave out an opinion that represents a Republican or Democratic viewpoint due to fear of backlash, then we have failed in our mission of representing all aspects of the community’s readership. 

Thirdly, we ask for your respect. Not just for our reporters or opinion columnists, but for people with differing views than you in our community. 

If someone else’s viewpoints seem way out of line with what you believe, some of that may be the media ecosystem in which they are consuming content. Many people’s lack of trust in journalism has led them to seek out echo chambers where misinformation and bias run rampant. You may think a helpful alternative could be to not show opinions from different sides of arguments in our paper, but we disagree. Now, more than ever, we need people seeking out responsible news sources that will do the right thing such as correcting mistakes when made and trying to be honest with the public. 

Those people whose viewpoints you don’t like, when they are censored or shouted down, will simply go to a different part of the media, one that takes a hard political leaning, one we can’t always vouch for journalistically speaking. 

As always, readers may reach out to the Star-Observer with any thoughts you may have. The newsroom contact is [email protected], and our Community Editor can be reached at [email protected].