Our role as media (whether foreign, national or a simple community paper that covers Montreal's West End) is to make those views known, since they usually correlate strongly to all actions taken.

However, it's this paper's strong editorial belief that the media should exist as far more than just an echo chamber, dutifully passing on all the carefully crafted press releases that land on our desks and in our inboxes. You see, there is an inherent unfairness and inbalance in the way information is communicated to the hoi polloi. Not because it's necessarily erroneous or manipulated. Most of it is just run-of-the-mill information meant to facilitate people's lives, although some is undisputedly presented in the best possible light for the elected officials involved.

No, the unfairness lies in the simple fact that ordinary citizens don't have press offices and PR consultants making them look good and advicing them every step of the way. Elected officials do. Therefore, public relations personnel should not take offence when a community paper questions policies and decisions taken nor debate the necessity for such action.

Public relations personnel are paid to make the person they work for look good. We are not. A community paper's raison d'etre is to not only communicate the news, but to allow vocal and immediate criticism of such news. Along with communicating the Emperor's new speech, we are allowed to pass judgement on the Emperor's new clothes -- or lack thereof.

It is why even when the editorial staff of this paper does not necessarily agree with a citizen's point of view they will still defend that citizen's right to communicate said view and gladly include it in their –extremely tight-- editorial space.

It is a fundamental principle of democracy to allow many sides of a story to be heard. The absence of bias lies with taking a neutral position; by allowing more than just the prevailing opinion to be heard. Conversation, debate, the dissemination of differing and even opposing views is the best way for citizens to make informed decisions about critical issues of importance in their community.

The people in power are not the only ones with an educated opinion. Citizens are vital sources of intelligent, well-reasoned recommendations that should be tapped into. They may not have PR people working for them, but they have just as much right to be heard. A responsible community paper should allow them the opportunity to do just that.

U.S. veteran civic activist, Ralph Nader wrote: "Very real personal fulfillment can be found in citizen action - in clarifying our values as to what is just and what is unjust, throwing them into the marketplace of ideas, having them heard out and debated, perhaps having them accepted." Even when they're not accepted, they need to be heard.