4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • AUGUST 22, 2018
O PINION
The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg-
ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their
Government for a redress of greivences.
Letters to the Editor Policy
The Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor as part of
a community discussion of issues on the local, state
and national level.
Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed
letters must be signed. All letters need to include full
name, address and phone number; only name and
city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about
300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length,
grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not
guaranteed and depends on space available and the
volume of letters received.
Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative,
sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or
without documentation will not be published.
Letters containing poetry or from outside The
Sentinel readership area will only be published at the
discretion of the editor.
Political/Election Letters:
The ripple effect of ‘fake news’ accusations
L
ast Thursday, hun-
dreds of newspapers,
large and small, par-
ticipated in a nationwide
call to denounce President
Trump’s continued blanket
portrayal of journalists as
“The enemy of the people,”
proponents of “fake news”
and members of the “op-
position party.”
The collective voice of
editorials was initiated
by the The Boston Globe,
which wrote in its editorial
the day before: “Today in
the United States, we have
a president who has cre-
ated a mantra that mem-
bers of the media who do
not blatantly support the
policies of the current U.S.
administration as being
the ‘enemy of the people.’”
The president’s response
Thursday morning was
swift, delivered via Twitter,
in which he charged that:
“The Globe is in COLLU-
SION with other papers on
free press!”
Regardless, The Globe’s
appeal for newspaper edi-
tors and editorial boards to
publish opinion pieces on
the topic resulted in nearly
400 editorials in newspa-
pers across the country,
from the Miami Herald to
the Boise Weekly.
And, yes, The Sentinel is
among those mentioned by
The Globe.
Truth be told, the pres-
ident’s opinion, tweets or
statements mean little in
the context of our daily
work here as journalists
We are a communtiy
newspaper with the job of
CNN analysis.
In addition, The Wash-
ington Post publishes a
running report on the
president’s spoken and
tweeted falsehoods which,
as of today, add up to more
than 4,000 since his inau-
guration
From the managing editor’s desk
Ned Hickson
providing news, informa-
tion and context on the
things that directly impact
those who live here.
However, in the same
way trends in things such
as fashion, music or lan-
guage that begin on one
coast inevitably make their
way to the other, the same
can be said for cultural and
social trends.
This is nothing new.
What is new is how
quickly the ripple effect of
those trends make their
way from coast to coast,
community to community,
thanks to our national and
global interconnectivi-
ty. This is especially true
now, in a time of tribalism
which hastens us to pick
sides rather than engage
in dialogue that explores
perspectives.
In his first year as presi-
dent, Donald Trump used
the word “fake” in refer-
ring to news stories, the
media and polls more than
400 times, according to a
That trend and the
blanket statements made
by our president labeling
journalists and media as
“the enemy” and perpe-
trators of “fake news” has
created a ripple effect that
has made its way into com-
munities across the nation.
This includes our own,
where cries of “fake news!”
and “opposition party
members!” have made
their way into social media
comments, voicemails,
emails and whispers at
public meetings when
reporting on volatile or
controversial subjects.
As the Houston Chronicle
said in its editorial, “[The
president’s] broad brush
stroke undermines the col-
lective credibility of thou-
sands of American jour-
nalists across the country
who are the watchdogs
over their branches of
government.”
This includes local,
county and state govern-
ments, organizations and
charters within every com-
munity where a journalist
takes notes and reports the
new.
We’re not perfect. We
make mistakes. When we
do, we own up to — and
correct — them.
Just like there is a differ-
ence between tabloid news,
social media rumor and
American news institu-
tions like The New York
Times, Washington Post
and Boston Globe, there
is a difference between an
unintentional error and
purposely manufactured
conjecture.
We have nothing to gain
by losing credibility with
the communities we serve,
which is why we take
correcting any mistakes as
seriously as we do to avoid
making them in the first
place
The same day that edi-
tors were publishing their
opinions on the matter, the
U.S. Senate, in a unani-
mous vocal vote, passed a
resolution that “affirms the
press is not the enemy of
the people” and “condemns
attacks on the institution
of the free press.”
In my mind, that vote
underscores the real no-
tion behind the freedom
of the press, which is that
the most important vote
we make is one we take of
confidence in one another.
Election-related letters must address pertinent or
timely issues of interest to our readers at-large.
Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing
campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure
any information about a candidate is accurate, fair
and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay;
and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates
based on personal experience and perspective rather
than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric.
Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the
editor column to outline their views and platforms
or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political
advertising.
As with all letters and advertising content, the
newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher,
general manager and editor, reserves the right to
reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria.
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.floydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
C ottage G rove
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