IT'S the question that's split the nation. No, not whether it's ever acceptable to put Coca-Cola in a single malt but whether Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom or if it should be an independent state.
We receive a steady stream of letters and emails about our stance and treatment of the constitutional question. The missives are, as you would expect from Herald readers, erudite and well-argued.
However, they mostly come down to one argument: that we are a Unionist/Nationalist mouthpiece (delete as appropriate). This is fundamentally mistaken and a misunderstanding – sometimes deliberate – of what The Herald is all about.
Our office is, like the rest of the country, split down the middle on this subject. However, our job is not to parrot opinions we personally believe in, but to try – as best as we can – to produce informative journalism that allows readers to make an informed decision. To do that, we must remain impartial.
There is an important distinction to make between Comment and News. Our opinion pieces are always badged on these pages and online as Herald Voices. These are essentially commentary and opinion, while News pieces will be at the front of the paper, and are produced by our team of reporters and specialists. News pieces will be factual, and will always give two (or more) sides of the story. This is basic stuff but it might bear repeating.
Some of our experts, such as Health Correspondent Helen McArdle and Scottish Political Editor Tom Gordon, share their indepth knowledge on the Herald Voices pages. Here, they will explain the story behind the story. These are pieces of analysis and are presented as such, rather than straightforward news reporting.
We read all the comments which are sent to us and take them seriously. As part of that, we regularly conduct an audit of our columnists. We check for left-right and male-female balance and, of course, for balance on the constitutional question.
We are confident our line up, which includes pro-Union figures such as former Better Together adviser Andrew Dunlop, former Labour minister Brian Wilson and former Scots Tory adviser Andy Maciver and pro-independence writers such as Lesley Riddoch, Kevin McKenna and Neil Mackay is balanced and covers all mainstream views.
We are often asked by pro-independence readers why the SNP government is often at the centre of controversies on the news pages. The answer is simple: they are the government and, as such, are responsible for health and education – the things that affect people's lives.
Any government is held to higher standards than the opposition. They are not being 'picked on' over, for example, the problems with Scotland's ferry. If they are not doing a satisfactory job, then it's our role to investigate and report on that.
It's also worth making the distinction between the SNP, the Scottish Government and the wider Yes movement. The three things are not synonymous. A columnist, who supports independence, may find fault with the government but still support leaving the UK.
As the old truism goes: if both sides are having a go at us, then we must be doing something right. Join the debate at letters@theherald.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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