Hi, I’m Jessica Winter, Slate’s business and technology editor. Last week at Slate’s annual retreat, we asked staffers to reflect on how political bias may affect our coverage. Is Slate too liberal? Too predictable? If a majority of our staffers voted for Obama, how can we ensure our coverage is balanced—or is “balance” actually what we’re after? Some of the attendees argued that our goal should be rigor and integrity, not balance or “false equivalence.” Can Slate have it all?

One attendee suggested we take the discussion to you, our Slate Plus members. We liked that idea, so here’s the plan.

The thread is yours. In the comments area below, tell us what you think: Is Slate too liberal and/or too predictable? If so, what can we do to improve, and which areas of coverage need the most improving?

I’ll keep an eye on this thread for the next week, until Tuesday, Sept. 23. I’ll do my best to answer questions and respond to your comments. When we’re finished, I’ll make sure to summarize your feedback for the rest of Slate.

Slate’s usual commenting policies apply. Our moderators will remove comments they deem offensive, off-topic, alien, derp-y, spammy, etc. Please keep it real.

Thanks everyone!

Jessica