Dick Senese were acting together on behalf of the Barsness campaign. I am convinced that most newspaper editors would have made the same assumption. Ms. Barsness calls our endorsement of her opponent a conflict of interest. However, I doubt that the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press or New York Times would be willing to forgo endorsements of races they cover. Like most papers, we rigorously separate our news and editorial functions.
Newspapers have a basic right to express political opinions.
The only thing we refused to print was her campaign manager's letter to the editor - which he wanted us to print on Election Day. We announced our letters deadline early, repeated it often, and stuck to it. However, we did not print some of the pro-Westrom letters we received because there were so many of them. He said no letters received after the deadline were printed. Media member Lee Canning asked if the paper had given written procedures to candidates at the beginning of the campaign season.