Saturday, August 8, 2015
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SECOND OPINION
Editing a process of what to publish – or not A t the bottom of this newspaper’s Opinion page, in every edition we publish, you will find the 45 words of the First Amendment to the Constitution of these United States. We take those words seriously. Journalists might not be experts in the First Amendment, but they generally have a pretty good working knowledge. They have to. After all, some disgruntled readers regularly lecture us about their rights under the First Amendment – as they understand them. They often don’t consider the rights of the press. ASHLEY CALLED A few weeks ago to tell the editor her First Amendment rights had been violated by this newspaper. We had removed some comments she had posted to our Facebook page. After we had declined to publish his letter to the editor, William sent an email to say we had violated his First Amendment rights. That letter had accused President Obama of unproved
crimes and depravities. He lectured us on his right of free speech and, apparently, about the newspaper’s obligation to allow him to say whatever he wanted in a letter. Ashley and William had neglected to consider those four words that follow that admonition against “abridging the freedom of speech ...” Those words are, “... or of the press.” EDITORS EDIT, WHICH includes deciding what to publish – and not to publish. The newspaper, however, cannot violate anyone’s freedom of speech because the newspaper is not the government. “Congress shall make no law ...” – but newspapers are free to set their own policies. We explained it to Ashley in our brief phone conversation, before she abruptly hung up. And we explained it to William in an email. “Despite your suggestion, you are not being denied your First Amendment right to speech,” the editor wrote. “No one is stopping you from walking door to door to talk to
larryLOUGH Larry Lough is executive editor of Sauk Valley Media. Contact him via email at llough@ saukvalley. com.
your neighbors about your opinions. You are free to print and distribute leaflets with your ideas. State law protects your right to show up at a government meeting and speak. You may even preach from atop a soapbox on a downtown street corner to share your thoughts with the public. “But you have no First Amendment right to have a letter published in the newspaper – or to have it read on the radio or displayed on TV.” The First Amendment obligation of the press, we suggested, includes a commitment to responsible opinion and commentary. That’s why we edit. WHEN MIKE CALLED, he was upset with the “bias” in a story we pub-
lished from The Associated Press. The AP reported on the controversy involving a recent video in which an official with Planned Parenthood spoke matter-of-factly about disposing of “fetal tissue” from abortions. That wording was “sanitized,” said Mike, who preferred that the media use the political language of the antiabortion movement: “body parts.” The media walk a fine line in the war of words in these politically polarized times. Especially on abortion. BERNIE SENT AN email this week about our editing of letters about abortion – particularly those written by people who oppose the legal medical procedure. He had been at a meeting of like-minded people when our editing became a topic of their discussion. “... [O]ne of the people said that letters that she had sent to your paper were edited so that the points that they were trying to make were totally altered,” he wrote. “These were let-
ters regarding Right to Life issues.” Right there, “Right to Life” is a loaded term, like the other side: the “Pro Choice” movement. We try to avoid using both of those marketing terms. One side is anti-abortion, sometimes without exception; the other promotes abortion rights, which the Supreme Court established throughout the U.S. There is no unanimously accepted middle ground. The debate – and legal fight – continues on the margins. But Roe v. Wade stands.
THAT EMAIL FROM Bernie was a little off base. He cited no examples, but it’s absurd to think that letters opposing abortion are edited so that their intent is “totally altered.” “When a statement was made about late term abortions, it was edited to short term abortions,” he wrote. “You also edit letters if they call the unborn a life. “If this is in fact the policy of the paper, what use is it to write letters
to the paper? Editing letters in this manner defeats the writers’ freedom of expressing their beliefs, ...” As we noted, writers have lots of options for expressing those beliefs. Having their letters published unedited is not one of them. IN FACT, WE DO not change the term “late term abortions”; that’s how we edit the political term “partial-birth abortions.” We allow writers to offer their quasi-medical opinion that a fetus is “a life,” though the law would disagree. But their letters cannot call abortion “baby killing” or – as an unpublished letter did this week – say, “It is murder.” Those are crimes, and – like it or not – abortion is legal. Writers may express the belief that abortion is not right, even that it should be a crime. But the law is clear that abortion is not a crime, and it’s inaccurate to say that it is. Writers are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. Does that help, Bernie?
ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT
Following the campaign money just got a whole lot easier ‘Illinois Sunshine’ website helps to track political money like a hound It just got a whole lot easier for citizens to find and follow the money in Illinois politics and government. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform unveiled its new, automated Illinois Sunshine campaign finance website, www.illinoissunshine.org, that covers all major campaign donations and spending, including those of Super PACs and other types of campaign groups. Susan Garrett, chairwoman of the board of the non-profit Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, called the new site cutting-edge, innovative and ahead of other, more nationally focused campaign finance sites. What makes the new campaign spending website better? Why should you care? Campaign data, shared directly from the Illinois State Board of Elections website, now will be updated daily each morning. The site collects, tallies and shares complete campaign data from 1994, when the state elections board first began digitizing data, to the present. As campaigns, candidates and committees update reports – often at the last minute – new contributions and spending will be added to old reports to present a full
and complete picture of donations and spending. The site features several charts and infographics that give citizens a look at things like spending levels in all Illinois campaigns over time, top earners in the last 30 days, committees with the highest current amounts, and more. The site features a simple search box and explanations for the different types of filings and schedules as well as types of candidates, campaigns, independent and non-independent expenditures committees and more to aid citizens who might not immerse themselves in the world of campaign finance all the time. Each campaign or committee has its own full page with simple facts about contributions, spending, major donors and more. A QUICK VISIT TO THE home page now shows you Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign committee has the most money on hand in the state right now at $19.6 million. In second place with nearly $9 million on hand is IllinoisGO, or Illinoisans for Growth and Opportunity, an independent expenditure committee, or Super PAC, designed to support candidates who will work to resolve Illinois fiscal challenges.
madeleine DOUBEK Madeleine Doubek is an award-winning journalist and chief operating officer for Reboot Illinois. Email: madeleine.doubek@ rebootillinois. com.
Citizens for Rauner has collected more than $89 million, the most of any committee ever in state history, while the Democratic Party of Illinois, led by House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, has collected the second highest amount since records were digitized in 1994 with more than $67 million. All that information and far more can be found with a few mouse clicks at the new website. The website and curation was created by a civic tech start-up firm
called DataMade, which is based at 1871, Chicago’s tech incubator. Major funding for the effort came from entrepreneur and philanthropist J.B. Pritzker. Why should citizens use and care about the new website? “Measurement is the key to accountability,” said 1871 CEO Howard Tullman, noting the importance of transparency in business, politics and government. DataMade CEO Derek Eder noted the website is one of the first powerful tools to look at state and local campaign finance information. Alden Loury, a senior policy associate with the Better Government Association, said citizens “have an obligation to monitor your government so join me.” Indeed, following the money, who gives it, who gets it, who supports whom, can shed new
More info
Web address for Illinois Sunshine campaign finance website: www.illinoissunshine.org light on the darkest corners of campaigns, politics and government. It will help engaged, active citizens make
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