As a former weekly newspaper editor, I had a saying about letters to the editor -- "A person of integrity does not have to hide when they speak, or write."
That phrase sounds like it could fire up the anonymous blogger controversy again, but while I took issue with Springfield News-Leader Editorial Page Editor Tony Messenger's criticism of anonymous bloggers, I am in full agreement with Burton on this one.
Newspaper editors not only have an obligation to keep unsigned letters to the editor out of their publications, but they should make certain the signed letters they receive are from actual persons.
I had several incidents while at The Carthage Press and the Lamar Democrat when people tried to slip letters to the editor past me with fictitious names. Invariably, it was someone who was trying to attack a public official or say something he or she would never have the courage to say under their own name.
After my time at The Carthage Press ended in May 1999 (the old heave-ho) an extremely critical letter to the editor ran in the newspaper's Saturday edition, ripping into my tenure at The Press. I checked and could not find this person listed in the telephone book. I called The Press and asked if the identity of the letter-writer had been verified. I was assured it had been so I left it alone.
A couple of years and several more attacks later (though that was the one and only attack on me), an apology was printed on The Press' editorial page when it turned out the person who had been writing all of these letters did not exist (at least not under that name).
When it comes to anonymous bloggers, readers can judge the quality of the writing and the information. When it comes to anonymous letters to the editor, Burton is right on the money. They do not belong in newspapers. (Though they can be excellent sources for news tips.)
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