Newspaper outlines rules for election coverage

By Ed Pierce

Another election cycle is rapidly approaching, and The Windham Eagle is ready to provide objective coverage of the candidates and races in the Windham and Raymond communities.

To be fair to everyone concerned, here are the rules the newspaper is setting forth for election coverage this fall:

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Letters to the Editor supporting candidates will be accepted up to seven days prior to Election Day on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The letters should be sent to editor@thewindhameagle.com and be no more than 300 words in length. The deadline to submit letters is noon on Tuesdays for that week’s newspaper edition.

The newspaper will print no more than two letters supporting a candidate per edition. Readers may only submit one letter supporting a candidate during an election cycle. The letters will be published in the order they are received by the newspaper.

Candidate endorsement letters must focus on reasons why the writer supports the candidate and not used as an attack against an opposing candidate.

Organized letter-writing campaigns are not allowed by the newspaper and letters deemed to be part of an organized campaign will not be published.

Because of space limitations in the print edition of the newspaper, letters will only be published from residents living in Windham or Raymond and supporting candidates in districts that they reside in.

The Windham Eagle newspaper does not endorse candidates. All Letters to the Editor will be reviewed for factual information, and edited for spelling and grammar issues before publication.

Election candidates and supporters are encouraged to advertise in the newspaper to reach their local voters. The circulation of the newspaper is 13,000 weekly copies with approximately 10,600 direct mailed to homes and businesses in Windham and Raymond. Newsstand copies are available in Windham, Raymond, Casco, Naples and Gray.

A questionnaire has been sent to election candidates by email and candidates are asked to complete it in a timely manner and send it back to the newspaper editor to compile into a candidate preview for publication.

The candidate preview will appear in the Oct. 4 edition of The Windham Eagle. Should a candidate not return the questionnaire, their space in the candidate preview will indicate that they did not respond to questions posed by the newspaper.

Issues and statewide referendum items will be covered for readers in an upcoming edition of The Windham Eagle newspaper prior to the election on Nov. 5. <