There have been multiple citizens asking questions lately about how to bring their concerns to the newspaper.
They want to know about remaining anonymous and/or writing letters to the editor.
We welcome letters to the editor, within guidelines. Those include length, good taste (no profanity or name calling allowed) and local interest. And you must be willing to sign your name and include contact information for the paper’s use. That way if someone writes an inflammatory letter and signs someone else’s name, it goes in the trash bin.
What if someone wants to remain anonymous in writing their letter. If there is a compelling reason to withhold the writer’s name, it will be duly considered. But just because you don’t want your neighbor to know isn’t compelling. After all, what is on the Opinion page are opinions. That is why mine and other columns run with photos of the writers. We own it.
As to using anonymous sources in a news story – that can be done as well, but again, there are guidelines. Even the editor of the Washington Post knew the identity of Deep Throat during the Watergate scandal when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein used that source with his identity concealed.
If a source came to this newspaper and asked their identity be concealed for a valid reason, we would certainly consider it. Just because someone is afraid of retaliation does not mean they don’t have anything important to say.
And should push come to shove, I would go to jail for refusal to identify a source. That is my Constitutional right and that right extends to the source.
So if someone out there is holding information about a crime or other serious circumstance, contact us. If you are afraid of what might happen if you disclose information that someone else wants kept in the dark, we will protect your identity. Email or text. Call. We can meet you somewhere, although there isn’t a parking garage in Watonga.
It isn’t likely that anyone here is going to be killed over what they tell the press. This isn’t Crescent.
But it could be likely that the information could change the minds of some elected officials and by so doing, change the trajectory of this little town we call home.