Many people have asked why we print the stories we do, often complaining that we print stories that “reflect badly” on the GLBT community or one of its prominent members.

The short answer is that it’s a matter of respect – for ourselves and the community we serve. The Gay and Lesbian Times is not a company newsletter. We are not here to hold pep rallies and accentuate the positive. We are here to report fairly and accurately what is going on in the world around us.

The longer, more considered answer is that the GLBT community expects us to be a truthful, reliable source of news concerning our community. And we do our best to deserve that trust. Whether by election, employment or popular acclaim, we as a community elevate certain people to positions of leadership. We place our trust in them to use their position for the good of the community, and we expect anyone in a leadership position to act responsibly and take responsibility for their actions.

Holding leaders responsible for their actions may include potential embarrassment as well as praise. We are all human and therefore liable to make mistakes. We need to be mature enough to admit our mistakes and respond appropriately. Putting someone on a pedestal and refusing to see anything but a shiny, happy image of good is no better for a community than it is for a partner.

And we can’t have it both ways – if we’re going to report on Mayor Murphy regardless of whether his actions are good or bad for the GLBT community, we have to do the same for Assemblymember Kehoe or anyone else in a leadership position.

The GLBT community has been through a great deal over the years and is slowly maturing as a community and a culture. Part of maturity is acknowledging and correcting mistakes. Surely we are strong enough to tell the truth about ourselves and our community, to accept and learn from valid criticism. We are not children. It is better to police ourselves than to have the broader community do it for us.

Another frequently asked question is why we don’t run more stories about the (fill in the blank) community.

First of all, we don’t focus on any particular group within the GLBT community and start digging to find news stories. We look for news, wherever it is happening. The San Diego News section consists of general interest San Diego GLBT news and is meant to cover the broadest audience possible.

San Diego at a glance is meant for announcements, meetings, and news that may affect a smaller more specific audience. However, we’re not psychics. Anyone who wants an announcement posted has to send us the information. And we have to receive it two weeks ahead of time in order to meet our printing schedule.

If you want us to print your letter to the editor, keep it under 500 words and include your full name and contact information. If you don’t see it right away, it’s likely that we didn’t have enough space to include it and are holding it for the next week.

Our features are designed to appeal to a broad audience. If you feel that we are failing in some way, that we are somehow discounting or overlooking an entire segment of our community, tell us. We’re certainly willing to talk to you about it and consider any suggestions you may have.

The Gay and Lesbian Times is not meant to be an ivory tower, handing down the officially approved news from on high. We try very hard to provide information that is interesting, important and pertinent. Any newspaper has a vested interest in keeping an open dialogue with all parts of its community in order to serve that community well.

In order to provide an additional opportunity for you to talk to us about what you like and what you don’t like about our paper, we are working on setting up a series of town hall type community meetings. As soon as we have worked out the times and locations, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, talk to us when you see us around town, or send us a letter. You can e-mail information or letters to: editor@uptownpub.com, or if you’re not online, pop it in the mail and send it to: Editor, Gay and Lesbian Times, P.O. Box 34624, San Diego, CA 92163.