From the opinion desk: Make your voice heard – join the Press Herald’s reader panel

Sometime during the 1920s, the poker-playing American newspaper editor credited with coming up with the concept of the op-ed wrote: “Nothing is more interesting than opinion when opinion is interesting.”

On this point, Herbert Bayard Swope and I find easy agreement. Admittedly, there are days I wish I could subscribe to the entire Swopian position – he cheerfully continues: “hereon I decided to print opinions, ignoring facts.”

So far, I haven’t adopted any jazz-age practices on the job. But since joining the Press Herald last summer, I have been extremely interested in the many and varied opinions that come across my desk: comments, queries, letters upon letters, letters in response to those letters, columns in response to responses to those letters.

Prior to taking the job I felt concerned about my knowledge and understanding of Maine. I should say, about my lack thereof – I’ve been living here for just two years. I still feel it, as I should. But the more I read Mainers’ points of view, the more I learn and get to grips with. The more I correspond with our readers, the more complete the great Maine jigsaw in my mind.

Despite this column’s introductory nature, the good news is that the opinion section really has nothing to do with me.

It has to do with you.

With that in mind, today we’re launching something designed to pull in as many engaged, informed and diverse perspectives as possible: I’m calling it a reader panel.

The idea is to call on people all across the state according to what they know most about and care most about. Members will help shape and strengthen our discussion of the issues of the day.

Think of it as a public extension of our editorial board. That’s me and three of my colleagues: assistant opinion editor Sarah Collins; editorial page editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, Ben Bragdon; and our publisher Lisa DeSisto.

We’ll send out invitations to editorial board meetings and related events; host roundtable discussions on burning questions and subjects of interest; and solicit feedback on the state of our section more generally.

We’ve created a sign-up form asking the basics: age, hometown, family status and so on. If you think of somebody who would like to take part, let them know. If you think of people who may be interested but are not likely to sign up online, please send me their information directly.

In the interests of getting the ball rolling, I’ll tell you that I’m 34 and I live in Portland. I don’t have children. I’m not a homeowner. I came to Maine from Brooklyn, New York, and I arrived there from Galway, Ireland, which is where I grew up. I was raised by extremely apolitical parents in a country in which the dominant political parties have traded places in and around the center for decades on end.

I’m excited to rely on the insights of those around me to drill into the changing face of Maine. That change is taking place at a galloping rate; two years has been more than enough for me to say that with certainty.

There will still be plenty of room for storytelling – Meetinghouse isn’t ending and our Maine Voices slot is, mercifully, often host to a tenderly wrought tale that’s entirely divorced from the news. I hope to introduce more venues for different types of submissions as time goes by.

While I’ve been really interested in what we’ve published, I’m more interested again in the views that have yet to reach us. Join the panel at pressherald.com/readerpanel, or send me an email on any subject: sbrett@pressherald.com. I’m so looking forward to hearing from you.