Editorial of March 5, 2026

It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Publishes a Conservative Opinion

Before the 2024 presidential election and continuing on through present day, AllOtsego.com and its sister newspapers, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta,” have published what probably amounts to hundreds of thousands of words expressing various viewpoints of those on the left who are critical of the current administration in general and President Trump in particular.

These have come to us in the form of letters to the editor, op-ed pieces and even from our regular columnists. We have turned none of them away. In addition to these submissions of opinion, we have—in our news coverage—faithfully reported on just about every peaceful protest held in the county, given voice to those speaking out against the sheriff’s 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and provided unbiased reporting on a host of other liberal-leaning topics and events. That is our job.

It is also our job to publish the dissenting opinions of those on the conservative side of the aisle. As we have written before, it’s tough getting these folks to talk. They tell us they have lots to say, but are loathe to do so because—in their words—they are harangued and attacked in public, and even at social events, for their political leanings. Before and after the election, we had one conservative reader sending in letters and there were some who thought we should not “waste space” on his reflections…We’re looking for local, conservative columnists to fill the political gap, but so far no luck. To that end, we occasionally include a right-leaning opinion piece online or, sometimes, in the hard-copy papers. Because providing multiple perspectives is a mandate we take very seriously.