The media is full of opinions, from blogs to talk radio to print editorials and columns. At the Herald-Leader, staff-written opinion pieces take two forms: Editorials on the Opinions page, which are unsigned because they represent the views of a majority of the eight editorial board members whose names appear at the bottom of that page, and individual columns. Columns represent the opinion of the columnist whose photo appears with the article.
When Herald-Leader staff columnists express opinions, and cite facts to support them, their facts must be accurate. We expect some readers to disagree with a columnist’s opinion, but not their facts or the fairness of the context in which those facts are presented. Because of that, our columnists, like reporters, spend a lot of time reporting and researching their subjects. But, like reporters, they sometimes fall short.
Last Saturday, columnist Cheryl Truman opined that the Fayette County Public Schools should post all school police reports on its website for greater public disclosure. Superintendent Stu Silberman disagreed. But he also complained that Truman hadn’t done enough reporting, and because of that, the facts and context she used to support her opinion were misleading. Truman has made her reputation as a strongly opinionated voice in the community, especially on issues involving schools and Lexington government. As a columnist, she has the freedom to express her opinions. But when facts are challenged, we review a columnist’s reporting procedures.
In this case, Silberman had some valid points. The column should have noted that the school district has a policy of promptly sending letters to parents and releases to the news media about verified police reports. The district also compiles monthly summaries of police reports that are available to the public upon request. The column also should have pointed out that some of the school police reports mentioned in the column were investigated and found to be untrue. The Herald-Leader published a clarification on those points.
Truman and I met with Silberman, and he said he wished she had given him an opportunity to explain the district’s procedures and the context of some of the police reports. She agreed. Silberman also said he was surprised, because Truman has written extensively, and well, about school issues in the past. Silberman sent an e-mail to the community expressing his concerns about Saturday’s column, and we have invited him to submit a piece for publication. It’s an offer we make to anyone who takes issue with a Herald-Leader article.
After Silberman’s e-mail to the community, I received five or six e-mails from readers reacting to it. In what I can only guess is a reflection of America’s current media landscape, most of them assumed that Truman had intentionally distorted the facts to further some "agenda," or simply to roil readers. "I expect that type of ‘journalism’ from Rush Limbaugh, but it does not serve your paper well," one writer said. We agree, and we think that’s what makes this newspaper a more reliable source of information than some other media. But sometimes we fall short.
Tom Eblen
Managing Editor
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