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February 11, 2008 at 13:29:12

Headlined on 2/11/08:
Freedom of Speech vs Article Rejection

by Rob Kall     Page 1 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

 

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Today, one of our editors rejected an article, seeing it as not meeting the writing standards of OpEdNews.

The editor felt that the article was sophomoric and mean spirited.



Editors who reject articles are kept anonymous, to protect them from angry, abusive rejectees-- something we decided on after losing a few editors who didn't want to put up with the abuse. So, as I have come to expect, the author wrote back to me, which is where the buck stops, here on OpEdNews. Here's what the writer emailed to me:
I knew you would pass on this article. Other blogs published it........you're the only one who didn't.

I bet that makes you feel good.

You ever heard of freedom of speech?

I know freedom of speech does not exist free in your forum. You have decided it was "too offensive," for your taste. Oh yes, you have made a decision for everyone else that it is too offensive for their tastes too. Lovely huh?

UnAmerican. Your "feelings" supercede and eviscerate my 1st Amendment freedom of speech rights in your forum.

You'd be surprised how many people know you routinely abrogate one's 1st Amendment freedom of speech rights.

All it takes is something you find "offensive."
Here's what I replied, with a little bit taken out to protect the anonymity of the writer:
I knew you'd write to complain and hoped you wouldn't go off the deep end. It appears you're almost ready to take that leap. I encourage you to take a few breaths and wait 24 hours before firing all your guns. And keep in mind that I like you, like your passion and energy. But you go overboard sometimes. It's okay to go overboard. But when you engage in pushing edges, like you do, you're going to bump up against resistance sometime. That's what happened today. You are smart enough to realize this and expect it, without getting angry. Then again, maybe you're not angry, I hope, just taking this step to push back against the rejection. It didn't work.


Actually, I didn't reject your article. One of our 27 volunteer editors rejected it for being not meeting our writing quality criteria. And first amendment rights have nothing to do with publishing. You have the right to SAY what you want. We have the right to reject any content we want and have no obligation to amplify what YOU say.

When I saw your article was rejected, I knew I'd hear from you, so I asked why.

I'm not sure you can handle it, but honestly, you ought to consider this feedback a gift and, I am dead serious about this, take the feedback and think about it, not get angry or defensive. You want to make a difference and reach people. This is how a respected editor, a very experienced, highly competent editor, who has published every other article you've submitted, saw this article.

...it was not particularly good writing and was rather sophomoric ...Seemed like
something written from a frat house - including how (the writer) ended it. I reject
very few pieces and just didn't feel this one was up to the site, not even
diary-worthy.

I'm attempting to be a bit more selective with articles... And while it wasn't as nasty as some, I think this mean spirited, attack mode that has reared its head on more than one occasion on OpEd, should be tamed slightly. This piece was just childish to me and didn't have any redeeming value to the site.


OF those other sites (that accepted the article,) how many reached over 600,000 unique visitors last month. We have standards here and they do vary, from editor to editor. I trust this editor's judgment, and the editor has approved your articles in the past. So don't go chasing conspiracy theories.

And please keep in mind that I wouldn't take the time to give you such a detailed response if I didn't feel you were worth the investment. Don't return the respect I'm giving you with abuse. I won't tolerate it.


The writer responded with these words:
First of all, I'm not angry because I don't take these things personally because you don't personally know me from the man on the moon.

Thanks Rob for taking time to reply to me. And yes, I figured it wasn't you who rejected my article.

I appreciate you publishing my articles you have published.

It is what it is, Rob.....and you have your opinion and I have mine. No problemeskos.

Let me ask you this:

Do you sincerely believe you are NOT violating my free speech rights by refusing to publish this particular article?
Frankly, not all writers will take feedback. They come back with nasty namecalling, at which point, I ban them from the site. I refuse to take that kind of abuse. So I was very pleased that this writer responded in a calm reasonable way. But that still leaves the issue of freedom of speech hanging. Here's my reply:
Rights to free speech give YOU the right to speak or write, not the privilege of getting your ideas published.

Free Speech gives ME the right to publish the writings that I choose, and prevents the government and people who want to shut me or OpEdnews up, from stopping me or opednews.

Of course, at OpEdNews, there are 27 volunteer editors (we could use more. Some only work an hour or two every month or two) and each editor takes a different approach to articles. I think that's healthy. There are articles I don't like, that I might reject, that I'll leave to other editors to decide. Or sometimes, editors will, in the queue, leave a comment on an article, asking other editors to take a look and add their opinion, before accepting or rejecting the article. (It's a pretty cool editing/content management system.)

We are trying, here at OpEdNews.com, to accomplish a lot of things at once--
-build a cordial, civil digital community
-establish a credible, respected media site
-enable a very wide range of discussion on as many issues as possible
-empower progressive activists and organizations.
-support the publication of writings with a "we the people" approach to being open to writings for anyone who can write well and present new ideas, angles and or information.

This is a big experiment and we're all on a steep learning curve, at least for parts of the project.

As we are growing, it is inevitable that we will make mistakes, and that we'll attract some crazy, some nasty, some hateful and toxic people. Fortunately, these have not been coming out of the woodwork... yet. We have banned a bit more than 50 people in the past 30+ months, out of millions who have come to the site. I don't think that's a bad batting average.

We're very open to suggestions on how to do things better-- what TO do and what NOT to do.

 1  |  2

 

Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.

To learn more about me and OpEdNews.com, check out this article.

and there are Rob's quotes, here. To Watch me on youtube, having a lively conversation with John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here Now, wouldn't you like to see me on the political news shows, representing progressives. If so, tell your favorite shows to bring me on and refer them to this youtube video

My radio show, The Rob Kall Show, runs 9-10 PM EST Wednesday evenings, on AM 1360, WNJC and is archived on www.whiterosesociety.org Or listen to it streaming, live at either www.wnjc1360.com or here.

Or check the archived interviews at: whiterosesociety.org

Follow me on Twitter

A few declarations. -While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans. -My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.

Recent press coverage in the Wall Street Journal: Party's Left Pushes for a Seat at the Table

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John Kusumi ran independently for U.S. President in 1984, as the teenager going up against Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. He was the first Generation X politician in U.S. federal elections, and Ronald Reagan's youngest political opponent ever.

In 1989 Kusumi launched the China Support Network, a grassroots organization of Americans supporting the Chinese democracy movement - amid outpouring of response to the massacre of college students and other civilians in and around Tiananme...

to see more of bio, click on member name

John KusumiJohn Kusumi ran independently for U.S. President in 1984, as the teenager going up against Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. He was the first Generation X politician in U.S. federal elections, and Ronald Reagan's youngest political opponent ever.

In 1989 Kusumi launched the China Support Network, a grassroots organization of Americans supporting the Chinese democracy movement - amid outpouring of response to the massacre of college students and other civilians in and around Tiananme...

to see more of bio, click on member name

My experience of rejection

I have no rejection issues around here. At the same time that I started here, I also started at TheConservativeVoice.

(I don't think of myself as left or right, because when I was the 18-year-old independent candidate, I was 'other,' or 'none of the above.' My practical idealism has some appeal and some overlap with many parts of the political spectrum.)

For awhile, I found it to be very cool that the same material was being published by sites that were left AND right. Later, I started to publish at NolanChart (a libertarian site) as well.

My recent open letter to Lou Dobbs and Jack Cafferty chewed them out on a variety of issues, and--

OpEdNews published it
NolanChart published it; and,
TheConservativeVoice rejected it.

Why? I made a passing, fleeting reference to the 9/11 truth movement. It was within a bullet point-style list. This is actually the second time that TheConservativeVoice has rejected something where I included the 9/11 truth movement.

It suggests to me that TCV, even while it is internet-based "new media," is nonetheless running with "old media" assumptions and rules of thumb. Said assumptions and rules of thumb tend to be flawed and faulty.

But in either case, I have not written to push back or flame them. If someone's head is buried in the sand about 9/11 -- heck, I haven't even offered a "theory," just questions (but the mere mention gets it blown off as a "conspiracy theory") -- there's no point to commencing an argument designed to change their mind. The research is out there for the curious; they would have studied it as a media outlet; and, the ignorance is willful. The denial is their considered response. So, I don't engage them in debate or repartee.

by John Kusumi (39 articles, 0 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 77 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2:28:27 PM
 


Michael C. Morris has been involved in racing since the age of twelve (12) when he took a summer job working at Terry’s Speed Shop located in Phoenixville PA.

With the help of his brother John Morris, they teamed up and joined Razzberry Racing. In the 90’s, the team was building their own cars to complete in the Sports Car Club of
America’s National Classes when in 1993 Michael joined Ed Arnold Racing with David
Donahue, son of the legendary Mark Donahue, to run in th...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Michael MorrisMichael C. Morris has been involved in racing since the age of twelve (12) when he took a summer job working at Terry’s Speed Shop located in Phoenixville PA.

With the help of his brother John Morris, they teamed up and joined Razzberry Racing. In the 90’s, the team was building their own cars to complete in the Sports Car Club of
America’s National Classes when in 1993 Michael joined Ed Arnold Racing with David
Donahue, son of the legendary Mark Donahue, to run in th...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Rejection or Revise....

is all part of being a journalist.  If OpEdNews rejects an article I have written it means that as a journalist I have not followed rule # 1, two independant sources independantly verified.

The truth is needed, but wacky x-file plots are not.  That show is only in re-runs. 

That is not to say that the truth can not be like a x-file, but have the facts to back your story up.

by Michael Morris (18 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 300 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2:40:05 PM
 


Brent Turner is an election integrity activist. He has founded numerous activist groups- He is an Oxford graduate currently living in California.
Brent TurnerBrent Turner is an election integrity activist. He has founded numerous activist groups- He is an Oxford graduate currently living in California.

Free speech

As an election reform activist, I marvel at the quickness of some " activists" to remove a person or concept from the conversation. Like the " high voltage torture tests ' it seems that humans can not handle authority over each other. They will follow direction ad send the voltage to their fellow citizen "enemy'.  I applaud Mr. kall's point of view, and encourage all of us to do better. In taking a position of leadership that involves media and the ability to be heard, a certain duty arises. that duty should be honored with a fair hand that allows all points of view.  -  Brent Turner 

by Brent Turner (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 94 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2:48:47 PM
 


I am a freelance writer located in New York City.  I am also a Certified Lay Speaker in the Metropolitan District, New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church.  I am considered a Jewish Christian or Christian Jew, whichever you prefer, having been Bar-Mitzvahed in 1970 into the Tribe of Levi (making me a Levite).  Plus, I'm the son of a Holocaust Survivor.
Kenneth BarrI am a freelance writer located in New York City.  I am also a Certified Lay Speaker in the Metropolitan District, New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church.  I am considered a Jewish Christian or Christian Jew, whichever you prefer, having been Bar-Mitzvahed in 1970 into the Tribe of Levi (making me a Levite).  Plus, I'm the son of a Holocaust Survivor.

Editorial Discretion is Part of Writing

As another contributor who has had articles either rejected or content changed for clarity purposes, I fully understand the need for editorial discretion.  It is part of writing.  A good editor can make a writer look like a Pulitzer winner, a bad one can turn the best of writers into a functional illiterate.  The important thing here is that OpEdNews.com gives us the opportunity to be read.  The integrity of the site is the responsibility of those who decide what is accepted.  As previously noted, free speech is the opportunity to speak, whether the speaker is heard or not is the choice of the listener.

by Kenneth Barr (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 77 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2:57:44 PM
 


As the NY Times would say, the writer is a lawyer.
legalpadAs the NY Times would say, the writer is a lawyer.

bogus freedom of speech issue

your comebacker to the rejected writer missed the point, rob.  1st amendment rights exist only where there is STATE ACTION involved.  your publication is not an organ of the federal government, nor (i assume) does it receive federal funds.  no state action = no possible infringement.  it's that simple. 

by legalpad (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 3:04:45 PM
 


First I am an artist and a teacher. And I am an activist in researching and rectifying the fraud of 9/11. I am a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice and a grassroots contact at www.911truth.org. I designed the logo for the Journal of 9/11 Studies.

My current pledge is to force by persuading key members of the congress, especially members of the Judiciary Committee in the House, addition of a fourth article to the impeach Cheney H.R. 333/799. This is the best ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Carl WeisFirst I am an artist and a teacher. And I am an activist in researching and rectifying the fraud of 9/11. I am a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice and a grassroots contact at www.911truth.org. I designed the logo for the Journal of 9/11 Studies.

My current pledge is to force by persuading key members of the congress, especially members of the Judiciary Committee in the House, addition of a fourth article to the impeach Cheney H.R. 333/799. This is the best ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Jokes -- and 1st amendment

Wrong!  That money would HAVE to be rejected, Rob.  I know you were just trying to make a lighthearted comment, but you have to watch what you joke about.

The First Amendment, as has been pointed out correctly, prevents governmnet from censoring speech and it protects your right as an editor to have standards for what you publish.

Here is one suggestion, though.  Before an article is rejected, let two editors read it, maybe discuss it back and forth, maybe also with you part of the decision.  More than two plus you is chaos.

I'm glad the writer returned to reason and the exchange was well worth sharing.  Thanks for your caring stewardship, Rob.  Just wish I could send you a hundred bucks.  Maybe next month...

 

by Carl Weis (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 23 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 4:32:52 PM
 


10 year Navy veteran,former Federal employee with various agencies,
Gallaher10 year Navy veteran,former Federal employee with various agencies,

Gov. money

If you are a government funded speech outlet can you still reject articles?

by Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 608 comments) on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 1:07:23 PM
 


My name it means nothing, my age it means less. My deeds of activism are mine to enjoy and share as I feel necesary, not as some clown in a small forum's administration thinks I must..This place gets worse each and every visit.
Member banned on June 3, 2008 for repeated abuse of editors.

ardee D.My name it means nothing, my age it means less. My deeds of activism are mine to enjoy and share as I feel necesary, not as some clown in a small forum's administration thinks I must..This place gets worse each and every visit.
Member banned on June 3, 2008 for repeated abuse of editors.

My goodness how far this forum has come

I remember when Rob was begging for articles, now, as there is a flood of such, more selectivity is allowed as to what is acceptable.

As others have noted, to be an author is to be rejected, possibly more than accepted. A pity the author of the rejected piece was too personally involved with his work to understand the fate of authors everywhere.

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 3:19:27 PM
 


I am a professional life-extensionist and liberty promoter who practices what I and husband, Paul Wakfer, preach. More detail about both of us - philosophically and physically - at http://morelife.org/personal/

When the comment time period has closed at OpEdNews.com, readers are welcome to post their comments/questions at MoreLife Yahoo after meeting the posting requirements of that group, sent to all new members upon joining. All archived messages, however, are available to anyone....

to see more of bio, click on member name

Kitty Antonik WakferI am a professional life-extensionist and liberty promoter who practices what I and husband, Paul Wakfer, preach. More detail about both of us - philosophically and physically - at http://morelife.org/personal/

When the comment time period has closed at OpEdNews.com, readers are welcome to post their comments/questions at MoreLife Yahoo after meeting the posting requirements of that group, sent to all new members upon joining. All archived messages, however, are available to anyone....

to see more of bio, click on member name

Thoughts on Submission Rejection

After reading the discussed rejected item at the provided link, if I were one of Rob's editor's I too would have rejected it for lack of substance for the purpose of informing and encouraging thinking and discussion by OpEdNews.com readers. Your article of 2/5/08, "Super-Delegates" - more like "Super-UnDemocratic" , while mostly a copy of Tom Curry's article at MSNBC.com was far more informative and better written on the same general subject.

I recently had a QuickLink rejected by an editor with the statement, "Thank you but this article link doesn't fit our website." Not understanding how this applied I did some searching on the OpEdNews.com website and then responded,

I am confused by the response, "Thank you but this article link doesn't fit our website."

Since reading your rejection I have looked for specific criteria on what is acceptable and do not find anything definite. The submission page states:
"If you find great news article, or op-ed column or blog entry (with a permalink) we'd really appreciate it if you add a link on OpEdNews to that article...."

Possibly I just don't know where to look. Would you please direct me to where I can see what is acceptable for OpEdNews.com for article links.

Thank you,
**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

Two days later my QuickLink was published - http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/link.php?id=51425 

My point is, that polite questioning regarding the reason for a rejection can provide the writer with more information about his/her item content failing, or will get the submission reviewed by someone else. This last is apparently what occurred in my case.

And of course, as others including Rob have pointed out, your freedom (currently) in the US is to be able say what you want without the restriction of government. No one is required to provide you with space on their platform/website to do so.
--
**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org
Self-sovereignty, rational pursuit of optimal lifetime happiness,
individual responsibility, social preferencing & social contracting

by Kitty Antonik Wakfer (19 articles, 3 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 116 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 4:50:56 PM
 


Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Rob KallRob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as o...

to see more of bio, click on member name

It doesn't always happen, but

I've tried to make it clear to editors that they should explain rejections. We use a collection of partial form letters combined with a PS that is personalized for the article. There are a few categories that are clear fromthe form letter-- personal promotion and out of date, but the rest, I do like the editors to explain WHY they've rejected the submission.

by Rob Kall (807 articles, 3921 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1702 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 8:52:36 PM
 


Professor Nan Fandel teaches communications in Iowa. She is also a journalist who has been an op-ed columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Also a poet and a Jellaludin Rumi scholar, Professor Fandel lectures throughout the world on the words, teachings, and life of this 13th-century Sufi mystic poet, who today is among the most popular poets. She has co-authored a book in honor of Rumi titled Mystery Box, which will be available in mid-2008.Professor Fandel's goal as a teacher and ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Professor FandelProfessor Nan Fandel teaches communications in Iowa. She is also a journalist who has been an op-ed columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Also a poet and a Jellaludin Rumi scholar, Professor Fandel lectures throughout the world on the words, teachings, and life of this 13th-century Sufi mystic poet, who today is among the most popular poets. She has co-authored a book in honor of Rumi titled Mystery Box, which will be available in mid-2008.Professor Fandel's goal as a teacher and ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

AS A LONG TIME JOURNALIST....

....and professor of journalism and mass communications, I know that freedom of speech ala the First Amendment gives (yes, "gift" is inherent in the word freedom but constrained by the civilized laws of the US Constitution)... gives the right to a writer/speaker to voice his/her opinion, and it gives the right to the editor/audience to accept or reject the writing/speech based solely on its "fit" with the forum and its audience.

Our democracy mandates a reciprocal freedom of speech. Thus, rules of engagement that protect and mark works as "doing no harm" abound. And the first rule a writer must learn is that rejection is mostly defined by the manner in which the material is presented, its appropriateness to the publication or source. Always ask, and be able to answer, the guestion, "What is my intent?" Motivation chooses venue; venue chooses based on motivation; and motivation is transparant based on the language a writer uses.

This firm reciprocity of "freedom of speech" between speaker and receiver must be embraced by the writers/speakers in a democracy if they ever want their voices to be heard. Afterall, freedom doesn't mean "a free-for-all" without boundaries to guide us to think and express in a respectful manner.

Thank heavens for editors who have the courage and the insight to choose wisely and always with their readers in mind. Since OpEdNews.com is a reader/writer driven forum, there are no advertisers to please, so motivation for rejection or acceptance sits soundly on the shoulders of the readers and editors. Otherwise, we would not have a "comments" section, now, would we?

Right on, Rob.

Nan

by Professor Fandel (4 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 36 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 3:34:34 PM
 


50 year old white male living on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest. I'm very fortunate to be a successful business person, one time Entrepreneur of the Year. Father of two daughters and in the relationship with a woman so wonderful that the only thing I question is her taste in men. I have professional and personal life of challenging the dominate paradigm.
CHIG50 year old white male living on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest. I'm very fortunate to be a successful business person, one time Entrepreneur of the Year. Father of two daughters and in the relationship with a woman so wonderful that the only thing I question is her taste in men. I have professional and personal life of challenging the dominate paradigm.

Transparency

I am neither a writer an editor nor constitutional lawyer. I have little to no visibility into the mechanics of journalism, and my only experiences for explanations of them are garnered from predominantly second or third hand sources. I have no idea of norms or best practices. What I do know is that as a lifelong progressive (the first campaign I remember working on was for Hubert H Humphrey’s presidential run while in grade school) is that transparency is a value I hold as important.

 

Your willingness to hold your process up to public scrutiny is appreciated and I feel a worthy step in the cycle of transparency. So long as the light of day is shined in the darkest recesses it becomes much simpler for people to operate from their highest self. It empowers each of us.

 

Thank you.

by CHIG (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 4:01:03 PM
 


Hello friends
I have decided to take a break from political writing for a while and have disconnected my email address correlated with Opednews. If any of you send me a message to my Opednews box and I do not respond, I am not ignoring you: The message simply is not getting through to me because of my disconnected email at home. Thank you and best wishes, Kathryn Smith

This quote summarizes the nature of my concerns and the content of personal experiences which stir my activis...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Kathryn SmithHello friends
I have decided to take a break from political writing for a while and have disconnected my email address correlated with Opednews. If any of you send me a message to my Opednews box and I do not respond, I am not ignoring you: The message simply is not getting through to me because of my disconnected email at home. Thank you and best wishes, Kathryn Smith

This quote summarizes the nature of my concerns and the content of personal experiences which stir my activis...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Rejection? Come on, be a sport

Hello folks

Whenever I resubmit an article to Opednews because I have not heard back for a reasonable length of time, it is not to insist that it be printed. It is only to make sure that they got it and were able to review it. I always state "Needless to say, you are not obligated to print anything submitted by anybody, and that includes me".

I think if we all take responsiblity for our own side of the street, then corrective guidance comes as a welcome enrichment to our lives, the quality of our work and therefore the outreach thereof.

If Opednews had the same function as CNN, ABC, MSN etc and deleted Candidates from the debates, that would be a different matter. Because in that situation, they are governing the free choice of American citizens to choose their own Candidate. For the mainstream news to censor content of any kind would be to control the public itself as well as to control American policy. In that situation, I support a "free speech" violation claim.

However, for Opednews to pick and choose an article in order to maintain its own credibility and good image, that is certainly Opednews's right and even its responsiblity. It has been pointed out to me by a major activist that the work of activists is discredited based on rudeness: Good work, Opednews! And thank you for all that you do. I whole-heartedly support you in holding a standard, which is only to the best good of activists nation-wide as individuals and to the work of activism, as a whole, in and of itself.

I suggest that anybody blowing the "free speech violation" whistle may possibly be in need of corrective guidance which, in a spirit of defensiveness, they are rejecting. Best to turn that attitude around to one of gratitude and to become enriched in one's own writing style based on the valuable feedback of the very good editors here. Please, for heaven's sake, let's not taint the reputation of activists and activism by submitting rude content and then just as rudely/aggressively blowing the "free speech" claim which is only one more form of harrassment. Let's remember the spirit of the law, not merely the wording thereof.

Thank you all. And thank you Opednews for all that you do. What a service to the world, especially right now! Bravo.

by Kathryn Smith (93 articles, 2 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 361 comments) on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 4:03:33 PM