Colo. chain says notice about cutting off political coverage in last pre-election paper went too far

This notice appeared in 13 weekly newspapers in the Denver-Colorado Springs region last week, and today on the Romenesko media-news blog from The Poynter Institute: "Per the policy of Colorado Community Newspapers, all coverage of a political nature will cease following the Oct. 23 and 24 editions. Any news coverage, letters to the editor or any other content discussing the Nov. 4 elections will not be printed to allow readers an opportunity to develop their stance without media interference. Coverage will resume with Election Day."

Jeremy Bangs, managing editor of the newspapers, told The Rural Blog in an interview that the notice went too far. He said it was intended to simply restate a longstanding policy that prohibits letters and last-minute charges (including charges in advertising) in the last weekly edition before an election. Asked who wrote the notice, he said, "One of our other editors put that together." Asked if he read it before publication, "I saw the gist of it. I don't think I read it word for word."

As for the notice's reference to "media interference," Bangs said, "If we were to do it over again, we would probably make a clearer reference that we're dealing with letters to the editor and last-minute charges." Many weekly newspapers have such policies, which guarantee candidates and other interested parties an opportunity to respond before the election. Some, including Colorado Community Newspapers, soft-pedal political coverage in the last pre-election edition. "We're not going to get into a lot stories about the specific issues" in this week's papers, Bangs said.