In the last several days we’ve heard some feedback from a couple readers who were surprised to see some political ads appear on the daily newsletter. One reader encouraged us to publish our policy about campaign advertising and clarify what kind of advertising we allow and how we cover politics in general.
First and foremost, GOOD Morning Wilton is apolitical. We do not endorse any candidate or political party, either in editorial coverage or in advertising. We won’t be writing any editorials–at least this year–supporting one candidate over another.
We have a pretty straightforward editorial policy that we published early in the season about how GMW.com will handle election news coverage, Wilton-resident letters to the editor in support of candidates, and op-ed submissions from the candidates and campaigns themselves. We published that policy on August 29, and we encourage everyone to refer to it for a reminder and clarification. You can find our election coverage guidelines here.
We have decided to accept political advertising for a couple of reasons. The first is pretty elemental: GMW.com needs some sort of income to operate. We’re a small, locally owned business and charging for advertising allows us to continue to publish daily, Monday to Friday at no cost to readers. Advertising helps us continue to cover the news in the way we originally set out to do when we launched in 2013–to focus on local, GOOD news.
But the appearance of political ads has us excited over something else, and it’s something that gets to the heart of the meaning of our democracy: unlike the past several elections in recent memory, there are several races in Wilton that are contested. There’s actually a reason for candidates to print signs and buy ad space–because there’s a choice between more than one candidate, and to us that says something good about the political process.
In full disclosure, we’ve asked all political advertisers to hew to some content guidelines, specifically that they won’t mention opponents in any negative light. We’ve asked that they keep the tone of their ads positive, to fit with what we try to promote at GOOD Morning Wilton.
Of course, we’re always interested to hear what you have to say, and welcome your feedback. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below this article, to use the “contact us” link at the top of the page, or to email us at editor@goodmorningwilton.com.
Most importantly of all, please write it in your calendar now–Nov. 4 is Election Day. Especially considering the current news in Wilton and any controversy surrounding the recent Special Town Vote, it’s more important than ever to take our right and responsibility to vote very seriously.
As always, many thanks for reading!
Heather Borden Hervé
Editor & Founder