How can nondaily newspapers compete with daily media and their instantaneous online coverage of the very election campaign issues that we are following but can't print until a week after the event?

The Web provides weekly newspapers the same capability of instantaneous online coverage – and not only during election season. The Web ought to be at the forefront of all newspapers in terms of disseminating news. Following that, customize the news to your readers.

Specific to elections, you can tailor your stories to the local issues most important to your readers. Identify these issues at the beginning of election season and use them as a barometer of your coverage. Another opportunity to tailor your coverage – and engage your readers - is to enlist a local panel of citizens at the beginning of the election season. These individuals can offer their perspectives on the candidates and the issues at regular intervals. If candidates have a major press conference that generates widespread attention, the local panelists can post their comments on the Web, thus making your coverage both timely and relevant to your audiences.

What are some ways to inject new voices and new ideas on our editorial page?

One avenue is to spotlight an issue each month by inviting two individuals to write a point/counterpoint on the topic. Some issues, such as school levy referendums, are natural for opposing editorial perspectives. Other issues that are likely covered in the news pages are candidates for points/counterpoints as well – for example, proposals for a highway bypass or riverfront development, incentives for economic development, revisions to rental housing codes.

This is also an opportunity for newspapers to supplement limited newsroom resources and give exposure to issues that may not receive regular news coverage. 

On occasion, we reject letters to the editor due to libel considerations. Individuals inevitably criticize our decision on the argument that the newspaper is silencing their First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. How do you respond?

The criticism that a newspaper is shortchanging someone's constitutional right is a typical reaction. The topic of libel is a worthy one for editors to address periodically in a column to readers. No. 1, see if the letter still can be used after some editing or rewriting. Sometimes a word, phrase or section can be eliminated or recrafted. The libel comment is removed, and the message is left intact. This might be done through some relatively simple editing, or you might relay your concerns to the individuals and have them rewrite the sections. In either case, the writer should be made aware of why the letter is unacceptable in its current form. In some instances, the letter — even with editing - may not be salvageable, or the writers may refuse to change anything. In that event, the letter must be rejected. Writers typically will tell editors that they are willing to accept the risk of legal repercussions. They must understand, however, that the liability extends beyond the writer. By virtue of publishing the letter, any number of individuals — the opinion page editor, editor, publisher and owner — can be sued. The newspaper itself can be the target of a lawsuit.