Forward on behalf of Minnesota Women's Press editor J. Trout Lowen:
Just to get the event order right here. The letter Farheen wrote to us and emailed to others was sent after an initial interview with her that went badly. She and I met, we discussed her concerns and how we could resolve them. I offered her the chance to be re-interviewed by another writer. She accepted.
The story was written based on that interview.
As to whether the story was critical, it wasn't intended to be an analysis of mayoral politics, but a human interest feature on a young woman taking the unusual step of running for mayor. The story ran in our profile section, which regular readers know is guided by the philosophy that "every woman has a story." As such, we wanted to look beyond Farheen the candidate to Farheen the person.
Had it been a piece on the mayor's race, it would have included comments from all candidates and a serious look at the issues.
On the issue of racism, I think it is beneficial for all of us in the largely white-dominate press to take every opportunity we can to learn from those we cover about how we can do a better, more accurate job of representing them and their issues. Farheen's letter opened up a good and hopefully long-term dialogue with her and other young women of color on how this paper can better represent all women in Minnesota.
J. Trout Lowen Editor
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