Last week there was an insert from the Vermont Right to Life Committee Inc. in The Valley Reporter and the other newspapers that participate in the Burlington Area Newspaper Group, a consortium of newspapers that share advertising.
The insert generated phone calls, emails and letters to this paper and the other members of the Burlington Area Newspaper Group (BANG) from readers who were offended by the content of the insert.
Several of the newspapers in the group had not seen the content before their paper went to press. Going forward, this newspaper will ask to see inserts prior to publication and will also ask that inserts include a statement about who paid for them and a statement that the insert reflects the views of the advertiser, not the newspaper.
While the views espoused by the Vermont Right to Life Committee Inc. do not reflect the editorial positions taken by this paper on the subject of reproductive choice, the people who paid for the insert have a right to free speech and a right to pay newspapers in the state to print their views.
Reproductive choice – despite being the law of the land since Roe v Wade was decided in 1973 – is still a hot button for many people and the insert pushed that button. We get that. But that insert (and all inserts) as well as all advertising reflects the views of the advertiser – not the newspaper.
The insert met the obscenity, hate speech and basic legal guidelines for publication so it was published.
Vermont is a very liberal state, a fact that many of us cherish, and understandably that liberal bent makes many in the state favor reproductive choice. So an insert espousing the opposite is unpopular.
But unpopular speech is as protected as popular speech and the Vermont Right to Life Committee has a right to spread its message via Vermont newspapers.
Unless unpopular speech is protected, we don't really have free speech.
And newspapers can't selectively publish advertising based on whether the advertisers' beliefs align with the beliefs of the owners, staff and community of readers.
Unpopular beliefs, or those not shared by the majority, have a right to be heard, even when – and especially when – we don't agree.
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