Dear HCN,
I noticed that you now
have at least three ranchers on your board of directors – Farwell
Smith, Diane Peavey and Doc Hatfield. At least two out of the three
are well known and outspoken advocates of public-lands grazing.
Isn’t this just like the National Cancer Association having a
couple of tobacco farmers on their board who minimize the health
risks associated with cigarette smoking?
I’m not
suggesting that these individuals overtly control HCN’s editorial
content; however, I can’t help but at least speculate that they do
influence the paper’s emphasis, editorial views and
reporting.
George
Wuerthner
Eugene,
Oregon
George Wuerthner is a
naturalist, writer and anti-grazing
activist.
Dear
George,
We also have four employees of
environmental groups: Maggie Coon of The Nature Conservancy; Tom
France of the National Wildlife Federation, whose recent lawsuit on
grazing has enraged Montana public-land ranchers; Dan Luecke of the
Environmental Defense Fund; and Lynda Taylor of the Southwest
Research and Information Center. In addition, Farwell Smith has
worked with The Wilderness Society for
years.
More important, the HCN board is not an
editorial board. Editorial policy is set by staff, and we guard our
independence. We listen to suggestions from board members, as we
listen to suggestions from you and other readers, but the editorial
staff determines policy.
Ed
Marston
Publisher
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A biased HCN board?.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
