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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Why so little coverage of fair in North Idaho?

The Spokesman-Review

Question: I’d like to know why there was such poor coverage of the North Idaho Fair. There was very little in the way of articles and pictures. You’d never know a fair was going on. — Margi Domme, Athol, Idaho

Answer: We produced a special tabloid section prior to the fair, as we do every year. It’s popular with readers and advertisers and is an essential guide to the event. We also ran a couple of stories during the course of the fair.

But coverage was not extensive. It’s a great event, but given the competition for space and time, and in light of other news priorities, we didn’t put a high premium on fair coverage.

Similarly, you won’t see a great deal of live coverage daily out of the Interstate Fair here in Spokane next week. — Steve Smith, editor

Why detail security weaknesses?

Question: Why does this paper, or any paper for that matter, go to such great detail to print delicate or sensitive information that the average person doesn’t need and at the same time can help subversives?

Probably my best example would be airline hijackings, be it skyjackers or terrorists. Details on how the person or persons bypassed security, what type of weapons were able to get through the security systems, what methods of training preceded the attack, etc.

It has been shown that hijackers pay considerable attention to news articles for information on what went wrong with previous attempts and how to improve their chances for success on their ill-intended venture or “crusade.”

Any newscasting that exposes weakness in the airlines, police, fire, military, etc. only helps the next ill-mannered miscreant to finely tune their “how to” manual for their evil deed and provides no information of “need” to the general reading public. — Jeff Bock, Clark Fork, Idaho

Answer: No respectable organization will print (or broadcast) information that truly compromises national security. Most of the information you see in print stories is already public, has been made available through other sources or is known by criminals, terrorists and miscreants through their own research and observation.

In the contemporary history of terrorism involving this country, there has never been a link established between media coverage and terrorist action (except insofar as terrorists seek the attention they’ll receive for carrying out their schemes).

While news organizations, most particularly newspapers, jealously guard their independence, we do cooperate with authorities on certain sorts of security information.

But the burden is on government to show that release of information poses a true threat. Too much information to which the public ought to have access is being withheld in the name of national security. That poses a threat to our civil liberties, and I find that as scary as any terrorist threat. — Steve Smith, editor

Why so many election letters?

Question: Every time there is an election around the corner, 90 percent of the letters to the editor are from writers promoting their candidate, or condemning another. I don’t care who my neighbor endorses and won’t read them.

Instead of “Letters to the Editor” why not call it “Political Endorsements?” If you must provide free advertising, why not a separate section entitled “Political” and still print the real letters to the editor? — Erwin Benke

Answer: A newspaper’s letters to the editor column may be the only forum left for regular citizens to express their political views, including individual choices for public office. Providing space for such letters is one of our most significant responsibilities.

The good news for this writer: Notwithstanding the heavy load of election letters, we’re still getting most non-election letters into the paper. — Steve Smith, editor