Recently one of the readers of WinCity Voices emailed to say that she was no longer going to be reading our offerings. She stated that she felt the platform was nothing more than an outlet for the liberal commentary of Pete Koutoulas and me.
We always regret losing readers and understand that what WinCity offers cannot meet the interests or requirements of everyone. And it’s true that our opinion pieces (certainly mine) are most often slanted liberally. I make no apologies for being a liberal. I would expect that most conservatives would likewise make no apologies for their positions.
I hasten to point out, however, that WinCity Voices offers much more than just opinion pieces. We do not do news. It was decided early on that we would never attempt to compete with viable news sources in the community. Instead, our goal was to provide a platform for divergent views, even some with which we may not agree.
And the diversity of material that has come to the website over the nearly four years that WinCity has been in existence has proven to be a draw for a great many readers.
As for myself, aside from my frequent liberal commentary, my offerings have consisted of: the Walt and Ram series (non-partisan), the Tink and Ram series (non-partisan), the Jake and Me series (non-partisan), my limited biography of my time in Marine training (non-partisan), poetry (non-partisan), art (non-partisan), three war stories (non-partisan), four interviews (non-partisan), and numerous columns regarding local issues such as traffic, the downtown, and signage.
Pete’s articles have consisted of everything from downtown shopping to Juneteenth to numerous stories about local people and businesses, including several podcasts of personal interviews.
And just to clarify, the website is also a vehicle to display a vast array of work of others, virtually all of it without a liberal or conservative slant.
The beautiful watercolor and accompanying stories of Adra Fisher.
The weekly music reviews of Jeff Brandt.
The bi-weekly movie reviews of Ron Kibbey.
The weekly musings and accompanying photographs of Erin Smith.
The beautiful nature photography of Wes Moody.
Book reviews and other commentary of Randy Patrick.
The occasional remonstrance of Sabrina Puckett.
The podcast interviews of LaShana Harney.
The often humorous and somewhat odd discourses of Michael Andrews.
The hillbilly, first-hand humor of Don Rose.
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More recently, works of Lisa Bush and Todd Garringer.
The variety of works to be found on WinCity Voices is already quite large and growing.
When someone asks to submit material for publication there is a list of requirements, virtually all of which relate to the methods of submittal.
The only requirement regarding content is stated in the published policy: “We are unabashedly progressive in our politics, but we will happily accept thoughtful, well-reasoned, and respectful commentary representing differing political views. Our primary objective is to give voice to those who are not being heard. [bold in original].
As for myself, I shall continue to write liberal viewpoints. Disagree with them as you choose. But don’t distance yourself from all the other great offerings of this website.
