In response to many inquiries, The Concord Independent Foundation’s Board of Directors has set out the policy for political advertisements appearing in The Concord Bridge. Our commitment to serving the whole community with impartial, fair, and inclusive local news coverage is the model that we will apply to considering political ads in our print newspaper. The importance of an informed citizenry, especially when it comes to elected officials, cannot be overstated.
Accordingly, The Concord Bridge will not accept paid political advertisements. We will, however, offer every candidate running for a local elected office a free quarter-page “signature” ad that will appear two weeks prior to a given election. A candidate’s “signature” ad is a list of community members who have indicated their support for a candidate.
In addition, The Concord Bridge will make every effort to provide the community with thorough and thoughtful coverage of local elections. It will provide interviews of candidates; publish letters to the editor; and offer in its calendar information regarding caucuses, informational coffees, and other events where Concordians can meet and evaluate candidates for local offices. The calendar will not list political fundraising events.
There is nothing more important in a democracy than an informed public. Knowing your candidates and who supports them is critical. In the manner listed above, we remain faithful to our mandate for The Concord Bridge to provide a fair, inclusive, and impartial source of news, including that surrounding local elections.
