Inside Opinion

If you have questions about how the Daily News makes editorial decisions, this blog has the answers. Editorial page editor Matt Zencey and writers Frank Gerjevic and Rosemary Shinohara will discuss what they're working on, answer questions and ask your perspective on issues facing Alaska.


Contributors

Matt Zencey

Matt Zencey joined the Daily News as an editorial writer in 1985 and was named editorial page editor in May 2007. He has won several. "Best editorial writing" awards from the Alaska Press Club and was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University. He lives on the west side of Anchorage, where he enjoys the best weather in town and easy access to the Coastal Trail. E-mail Matt at mzencey@adn.com

Frank Gerjevic

Frank Gerjevic has worked at the Daily News since 1978, where he's been sports editor, copy editor, reporter and columnist. He's been an editorial writer since 1998. He began his newspaper career with the Anchorage Times in 1975. E-mail Frank at fgerjevic@adn.com

Rosemary Shinohara

Rosemary Shinohara is an editorial writer who has lived most of her life in Alaska. She has spent most of her career as a reporter or editor at the Daily News. She covered construction of the Alaska oil pipeline, the Legislature, schools and urban affairs. She has also been an editor for NPR's All Things Considered, and has written for the Associated Press. E-mail Rosemary at rshinohara.com

Archive

anti-AGIA stall continues - 7/31/2008 11:32 am

AGIA passes Senate committee unamended - 7/30/2008 10:11 pm

Begich Re: Monegan, circa 2006 - 7/21/2008 3:33 pm

Why Daily News editorials are not signed - 7/20/2008 10:28 am

Is ADN unfair to Ted Stevens with our op-ed policy? - 7/16/2008 5:07 pm

For troops, families and friends - 7/16/2008 2:24 pm

Good, bad, ugly photos - 7/15/2008 4:23 pm

Exxon ruling - ADN editorial - 6/25/2008 11:49 am

James Christianson's lucky day - - 6/19/2008 11:18 am

Would you read candidates' op-eds on the web? - 6/19/2008 11:10 am

Who chooses those columnists? - 6/18/2008 4:46 pm

Smoke? At that price? - 6/18/2008 7:59 am

Op-eds from political candidates - 6/17/2008 1:31 pm

Candidate Begich re: Iraq - 6/13/2008 5:00 pm

Why only four letters today - 6/12/2008 5:02 pm

Great unwashed elites? - 6/12/2008 2:23 pm

Politics or pillow talk? - 6/11/2008 4:08 pm

Relatively unarmed - 6/10/2008 3:13 pm

Insured, but still in medical debt? - 6/10/2008 11:42 am

A tribute to Carol Comeau - 6/10/2008 11:27 am

Knik bridge - 6/9/2008 2:43 pm

Obama's macho deficit - 6/9/2008 11:19 am

full archive »

"I dare ADN to publish this."

Posted by Matt Zencey, editorial page editor

Posted: May 13, 2008 - 8:42 am

Every so often we get a letter or op-ed submission that includes the challenge, "I dare ADN to publish this."

Implying of course, that the writer has something powerful and unpopular to say, and we lack the journalistic courage to put it in the paper.

So I look at what the writer says, and inevitably, what I find is this. The piece is so badly written - badly argued, if not outright incoherent, or irredeemably tasteless -- that it would never get published on its own merits. The writer's only hope is to call our editing manhood into question.

Well, these days, there's a place for airing views like that: the Web. If we're going to kill trees to put somebody's views in the paper, we want it to be worth the sacrifice of cellulose. It's got to be worth our readers' time.

For print, we take the best of the submissions that we get, and everyone else is welcome to post their views on the Letters: Unfiltered section of our website.

Matt Zencey,
editorial page editor


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  5     June 18, 2008 - 5:37pm | iopialaska

HOW dare you?

Just because YOU assumed the article was bad, poorly written doesn't mean we may not want to hear what this person, this ALASKAN, a READER of your paper, wants to convey. It's like American Idol... you've got to watch the bad contestants, to appreciate the good ones. So not every Alaskan is a writer, but I'd like to hear what this person had to say anyway. Mabey I would have laughed, or gotten angry... but that is still a reaction to the news. Your article is just plain BORING, nothing but a stab at someone who had something to express. And your a writer? Looks like this guy worked you up enough, to get you to write about it, actually gave you the story! Did you stew? Did you laugh? ( I bet the whole office there did)
Your article gave me nothing, no surprise, no emotion, just your feelings/views on the subject article...
B.O.R.I.N.G!
If you weren't editor... we would have never seen this article in print either. It sucks on the web too.

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  4     June 1, 2008 - 8:42pm | nickolas

what is probaly more true

is that said articles of dare are more often than not pieces about a state employee or agency of the state acting outside there authority, and since this paper is ran or more correctly edited by members of the state said aricles will not make print since they could be detrimental to these entities and there actions. But that is just my opinion, since none of my articles were ever printed, nor were they ever returned or responded to, except for which I personaly requested an article of enterest to be printed for which said person of ADN "won't bother mentioning names" became infurriated when said person lied and got caught by me by trying to say said article of simularity had been ran, when none ever had...but its just my opinion

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  3     May 16, 2008 - 10:12am | digitaldot

It amazes me that

the ADN feels they are somehow superior to what,... their readers??? Maybe the readers that are "outright incoherent, or irredeemably tasteless --" should get their news elsewhere. But that would be more than half of your readers. You might not want to alienate your base.

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  1     May 13, 2008 - 12:27pm | khbalaska

All this...

after what you WROTE and PUBLISHED about conservatives the other day?

Mr. Editor, I quote:
"The piece is so badly written - badly argued, if not outright incoherent, or irredeemably tasteless -- that it would never get published on its own merits."

Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black, eh?

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