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.
Over the past two weeks, we have heard from several individuals who apparently take great umbrage with the nine—count them, nine—conservative-leaning opinion pieces we have opted to run over the last year, most of which were published only on our online platform. Something like 6,000 words total, for those of you keeping count. And bear in mind that these subjective “partial observations” are not—and should never be—confused with our impartial news coverage.
Unlike the overwhelming majority of our op-eds, these were not penned by local authors. Most of them ran first in well-respected publications, including “Newsweek” and “The Washington Examiner” and were provided at no charge to us. When we choose to run one of these pieces, we verify the authors are who they say they are, check their credentials and confirm where their work has previously been published. One column, “The ‘Right’ View,” is exclusive to AllOtsego and, like it or not, is among our most read opinion pieces. As with our locally-written op-eds, the authors’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the stance of this news organization or its management.
AllOtsego and its affiliates are non-partisan. Our Editorial Board is non-partisan. That is our job. And we welcome differing opinions. Because, after all, in the 2024 presidential election, Otsego County voters largely echoed the nationwide red sweep, with President Trump getting 53 percent of the vote. Therefore, to publish only left-wing opinions—as some would seem to suggest we ought to do—would be to ignore more than half of Otsego County voters and a good portion of our readers as well. In fact, we firmly believe that those on either side of the aisle who only listen to news outlets that espouse their own beliefs are part of today’s growing polarization problem among U.S. citizens.
Our goal here at AllOtsego is to cover local news first and foremost. That is what we do—what we will continue to do. And for the record, more than a few people think we are doing it well—circulation is on the rise, website activity is increasing steadily, and we hear daily from folks who appreciate our unbiased, even-handed reporting as well as the occasional opinion piece about state or national topics that ultimately impact everyone. We do not, after all, live in a vacuum.
In his book, “Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right,” Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber argues that American universities are largely succeeding at managing free speech, despite widespread criticism, by fostering vigorous debate and protest while upholding ideals of equality and respect.
Eisgruber contends that “campus controversies reflect broader societal polarization, and that universities can model healthy civil discourse by encouraging bold speech and the wisdom to listen across differences, rather than sacrificing free expression for ideological conformity.”
Eisgruber is on to something. We’re here to report the news and also to share different, often opposing viewpoints intended to make our readers step outside their comfort zone and perhaps do some thinking and research for themselves. We don’t tell our readers what to believe. But we do still believe in freedom of speech.
