We want to dispel some rumors. What better way to do that than in print.

Not true: The Albert Lea Tribune withholds letters people write to us, then prints only a few.

Not true: The Albert Lea Tribune allows public officials to see critical letters before they are published.

True: The Albert Lea Tribune prints all of the letters that meet our policy, as stated each day under the heading, “How to send a letter or column,” and are not libelous.

True: Often, if a letter is over the word limit, we will attempt to contact the letter writer and explain options, such as appearing as a guest column (see the one by Lana Howe today) or by shortening the letter. We let the writer decide if they wish to shorten the letter or have us shorten it.

True: Some letters are sent, but we don’t receive them or we don’t notice them. Sometimes, this is because the sender didn’t send the letter to the proper email address, letters@albertleatribune.com. For example, sending them to news@albertleatribune.com can present problems because of the sheer volume of propaganda from organizations seeking ink— from presidential campaigns to zoos to think tanks to book authors to Dove soap to risk institutes to trade groups. It’s not spam. It’s propaganda. It’s people all over the country wanting us to print something about them. It shows you just how valuable the newspaper is. If you don’t see your letter, call us, and we can track it down with alacrity.

True: There is an entire body of law on libel and defamation, and explaining it can be lengthy. Feel free to look it up. Suffice it to say, in a nutshell, the most apparent form of libel is writing that someone committed a crime when they have not been convicted. Of course we cannot print such a letter.

True: Newspaper people just about everywhere in America dislike the government telling them what they can and cannot print. They don’t even want to be told what the ought to and ought not to print. We at the Tribune are the same way and are proud the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press. We print the First Amendment every day. We are making plans to print the U.S. flag every day, too. Why would we give up that hard-earned freedom of the press by letting a government official — such as a school superintendent, city manager or county administrator — judge whether we ought to print a letter to the editor? People died for this freedom. This newspaper is independent of government control. Government officials see your letters the same way all the other readers do, in the newspaper or on the website. They have no say. They have no prior review.

When we say we print all the letters you send, we mean we print all the letters you send except for the very few that do not meet our requirements.

So feel free to send in your letters and guest columns. There is no conspiracy. Priority is given based on when it arrived and whether it fits the available space that particular day.