It’s hard to believe that we are closing in on two years of ownership of the Whitesboro News-Record. June 1 will mark that occasion.
Jennifer and I bought the newspaper two years after I had left here for what I thought would be the last time.
I took a full-time faculty position at Tarleton State University where I teach journalism.
There was a two-year lull between 2021 and 2023 where I was teaching full-time and totally removed from the News-Record.
Once during that time, a local man complimented me on my work at the university.
He told me he was thrilled that my students had someone of my journalism background, ethics and integrity teaching them.
He said he had no doubt they were in good hands and that he wished that more young people had professors like me.
I humbly thanked him for his sentiments. It’s nice to be told nice things about yourself.
I was reminded of the compliment late last week when the same person canceled his subscription to the News-Record and discontinued business advertising with us because he did not
agree with something he read on the opinion page.
I was more than a little taken aback.
We were happy to reintroduce the opinion page back in January. It was one of our New Year’s resolutions and the response has been wonderful.
We have established a rotation of local writers, and we give them free rein to write about what they wish.
I do not always agree with every view expressed on this page.
It’s not my job to agree, but I also never tell our contributors about what they can and cannot write.
It’s my job as publisher to make sure nothing in the paper can get us sued, but— beyond that— I believe in granting complete freedom of expression.
I believe that’s what the community newspaper is supposed to do.
We do not all agree all the time, nor should we.
That is something I teach my students.
Some years ago, a staffer here wrote a column about a local initiative.
He was somewhat hesitant to submit it for publication because he knew I did not agree with his position.
“I know you don’t agree with this and if you don’t want to run it, that’s OK,” he said.
I told him it was wonderfully written.
“This is well-sourced, well-cited and well-thought out,” I told him. “We’ll run it this week.”
He smiled and asked, “So I changed your mind?”
I chuckled and said, “No you did not change my mind, but that doesn’t matter. If I am doing my job, we are giving multiple perspectives, and no one knows my opinion. My opinion is irrelevant.”
Years later that same writer— who has been in this business more than 50 years— gave me one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received.
“I’ve never known an editor or a publisher more willing to print opinions he did not agree with,” he told me. I took that as a token of honor because, again, I believe diversity of thought is paramount.
That is also something I teach my students.
The community newspaper is the last bastion of civil discourse.
We don’t allow anonymous comments.
We don’t allow defamation.
When we are criticized, or complimented, the response is still the same.
“We’d love you to write a letter to the editor,” we say.
It’s a shame folks are not as willing to write letters as they once were.
Newspaper opinion pages are under similar attack all over Texas — and the nation, for that matter.
We live in polarizing times and it is sad.
A publisher friend in Southeast Texas was criticized for her opinion page just a few weeks ago.
She went to the readers and asked if they should just get rid of the page all together.
Was it too polarizing for folks to endure? She asked.
The response was overwhelming.
Folks thanked them for the content.
They thanked them for the diverse points of view.
They thanked them for a robust opinion page.
It’s lessons like this that I teach my students.
So, my message this week is simply one of thanks.
Thank you for your readership.
Thank you to our advertisers for investing in our mission.
And thank you to all who contribute to these pages.
I appreciate your hard work and your point of view, whether I agree with it or not.