Editorial: Keep the conversation about free press alive

On Thursday, The Daily Herald editorial board joined more than 350 of our colleagues from newspapers across the country to send a message to President Donald Trump and to you about how we see the role and value of a free and open press in America. Today, we present excerpts from a handful of the editorials other newspapers published.

For an even deeper look at the diverse ways in which various outlets approached the topic, you'll find online links to many of the editorials in a list compiled by The New York Times at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/15/opinion/editorials/free-press-local-journalism-news-donald-trump.html.

Below, you see a small selection of some early letters and emails we received in response to our editorial, plus excerpts from spontaneous responses and conversations that developed in the Comments section following our editorial online and at our Voice of the Suburbs Facebook page. Many of the writers were happy we took this stand. Many were not. Such is the nature of democracy in a free country.

Whatever your reaction, we want to keep the conversation going. Few topics could be more important than the fragility of our most fundamental freedoms, and we need to be able to talk to each other sincerely and respectfully about how to protect them. Such conversations are the root source of the strength of American democracy.

We invite you to find our editorial online and join in the discussion there or at our Voice of the Suburbs Facebook page. Or, send us a letter to consider for publication in print and online. Email your thoughts to fencepost@dailyherald.com. Keep in mind that letters can be no longer than 300 words, and we need to have your full name, hometown and, not for publication, a telephone number where we can reach you if necessary. Please put #FreePress in the SUBJECT field to identify your letter as part of this project.

Give us your thoughts. We'll collect them into a special presentation next week.