Checks the Facts

Dear Editor,

As your article "Chamber Fires First Volley in Council Race" observes, the 2004 City Council campaign season has begun. As usual there will be many opinions and statements put forward between now and November.

The challenge for Surfsantamonica.com and other local newspapers, as important sources of information, will be to take the utmost care to clearly separate fact from
fiction.

For example, Seth Jacobson is quoted saying the "council spent three or four hours debating whether they should kill squirrels" -- a quote he wanted to get in print so that it would be repeated (as I must repeat to make my point). The reality is the Council spent less than an hour discussing the issue.

Mr. Jacobson is clearly free to express his opinion that the Council took too much time on the issue, and it's reasonable that surfsantamonica.com would print his opinion. However, by quoting "statistics" (three or four hours), without checking their validity, surfsantamonica.com gave credence to inaccurate information made by a paid campaign consultant.

It is Mr. Jacobson's job to spin information in a way that helps his clients. However, the press has a much more important job, and frankly an obligation, to separate facts from fiction. That's not an easy task, but it is one that is critical to a free and fair press in a democracy.

Sincerely,