Our articles of faith

Time to read
1 minute
Read so far

Our articles of faith

Thu, 01/07/2021 - 07:29
Posted in:
Body

AT THE BEGINNING of every year for the past 72 years since this newspaper has been under the independent ownership of the Ezzell family, we have published a statement of principles which has guided us in the week-to-week conduct of The Record. We have carefully re-read this brief public statement in light of our changing times, and from the perspective of years, and find no reason to change it in any way as we prepare for the beginning of another new year. — LEB

WE BELIEVE IN freedom of the press. We are grateful for it.

We will defend it to the limit of our ability.

We believe, too, that in return for that freedom, we owe an obligation of service to our community. We believe that it is our duty to provide you with complete and unbiased reporting of the news of our community.

We will do our best to keep you informed regarding the public affairs of our community because we believe that an informed public is our best guarantee of freedom.

We will always strive to base our reporting of the news on fact, and to confine our own opinions and comments on it to our opinion pages. We will continue to present our own views on public questions, as clearly and concisely as possible…because we believe you have a right to know where your newspaper stands on any public question.

At the same time, we will not deny you, as individuals, the right to public expression of your own views...whether your ideas agree with ours or not. As always, the columns of The Record will be open to you for publication, over your signature, of your own views on questions of public interest...subject only to the restrictions of libel and the standards of common decency. But we will neither publish nor acknowledge unsigned and anonymous contributions, regardless of their content.

The Record is a private company, operated for private profit. But it is a public news medium...and as such we hope that it merits, and will continue to merit, your confidence and trust.