Being a journalist during election season is an exhilarating, yet challenging experience.

Intense interest and strong opinions from the public about political races create excitement and magnify our role as an important source of information. We always like it when people look to the newspaper to help them make decisions, and we strive to give them the most complete coverage we can.

It's also true that many of us are political junkies. We enjoy being in the middle of good election battles.

Of course, we also have our own political perspectives. But we're trained, in college and in newsrooms, to set those views aside when we report on candidates and races. At the Star-Tribune, we're constantly assessing to make sure our news coverage is as balanced as possible. And we publish a wide array of opinions on our opinion pages.

The challenge comes in deciding what is news, and where to put that news in the paper. This election season, for example, we have asked ourselves these questions: Does a candidate's press release offer something new and relevant? When is an endorsement of a candidate really significant? Is a candidate's involvement in a lawsuit related to his business something voters should know about?

We realize that our work, especially during election season, will be scrutinized for fairness and balance. Sometimes we err. But I can assure you that we have no intent to favor any candidate over another in the news columns, just as we aim for objectivity in all of our news coverage.

There's one place in the newspaper that is an exception, however. Nearly every day, we publish a staff editorial where the Star-Tribune's editorial board offers its opinions on issues we think are important to Wyoming and Natrona County.

During election season, those opinions take the form of endorsements of specific political candidates.

As I wrote before the primary election, the editorial board arrives at endorsement decisions after meeting with candidates to ask them questions, reading news accounts of their positions and activities, and discussing what we perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses.

We take into account their experience and qualifications. If the candidate is an incumbent, we look at his or her performance in office. We assess whether the candidates' positions on the issues mesh with ours. And though our conclusions aren't always unanimous, we pick the candidates we think will best serve the citizens of our state and community - regardless of political affiliation. We endorse both Republicans and Democrats.

Why endorse political candidates? Because our access to the candidates gives us insight we think is worth sharing. Because we publish hundreds of editorials offering our opinions on important local issues every year, and there's nothing more important than deciding whom to elect as our leaders and representatives. Because endorsements help fulfill our role of stimulating healthy discussion about candidates and issues.

Endorsements are much less about telling you how to vote than they are about getting you to think about your vote.

We understand that endorsing a particular candidate may create the perception that our news coverage is slanted in favor of that candidate. But that isn't the case. For one thing, no reporters covering political races are involved in formulating endorsement editorials. But more than that, our news staff takes seriously readers' expectation that we'll provide fair and balanced election coverage in our news columns.

Along those lines, watch for the Star-Tribune's 2008 general election guide in next Sunday's paper. It'll feature profiles of candidates and races in Natrona County and for Congress and the state Legislature.

It's part of our effort to help voters become informed.

Do you have a question or a comment for Editor Chad Baldwin? You can call him at 266-0545, or send e-mail to chad.baldwin@trib.com.