Journalistic Standards R us
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January 25, 2026: actual, unretouched photo of greenwich third selectman rachel khanna on her way to deliver a sternly worded letter to the editor
Greenwich’s Third Selectman Rachael Khanna has released a formal statement to Greenwich Free Press complaining that another local news outlet, Greenwich Sentinel, reprinted without her explicit authorization an editorial she’d previously submitted for publication to The Greenwich Free Press, Greenwich Patch, her Facebook page, and, presumably, Greenwich Time. Even worse, because, they claimed, she had previously refused permission to use her likeness, the editors “used a doctored photograph of me which altered my appearance to make me unrecognizable”.
Oh, the horror — a politician thrives on seeing their picture everywhere, so the pain Khanna must have endured by this slight can only be imagined. Let’s correct that now:
Apparently, Greenwich Sentinel has caved in to her pressure and deleted the offending press release of December from its own site — I can’t find it, anyway — and that’s a shame, because her demand for its removal demonstrates that this politician’s grasp of the First Amendment and the principle of free speech is as weak and hypercritical as her understanding of political issues: anyone’s letter to a newspaper is by definition a public statement, and a politician’s self-described “editorial” even more so. Once it’s out there, Rachael, you don’t get to pick and choose who is allowed to pass it on.
Here’s Khanna’s whiny missive to Greenwich Free Press from two days ago:
Khanna: Local News and Journalistic Standards
February 18, 2026
Submitted by Rachel Khanna, Greenwich Democratic Selectwoman
Dear Neighbors,
Last week, Greenwich Sentinel published a doctored photograph of me in their print edition which altered my appearance to make me unrecognizable. Later, Greenwich Sentinel added an editor’s note claiming they had edited the photo because I had requested to not be in their newspaper.
In a separate incident, my name was deliberately excluded from a Greenwich Sentinel news article reporting on a group of women being honored by the YWCA—9 of the 10 honorees were listed. Again the editor claimed I had asked to be removed.
I would like to take this opportunity to provide the facts.
“Last December, Greenwich Sentinel re-published, without my permission, a letter to the editor that I had submitted to other news outlets.”
In response, I requested in writing that – should Greenwich Sentinel want to publish an editorial of mine in the future – I would be grateful if they would ask permission. To be clear, I made no request to be excluded from Greenwich Sentinel news coverage or photographs.
According to the National Press Photographers’ Association code of ethics, professional standards strongly discourage altering images in a way that misleads viewers or misrepresents subjects.
It is my hope that Greenwich Sentinel act with integrity and issue a public apology for their actions. Now more than ever, it is vital that journalists act in ways worthy of the public trust and that Greenwich residents can be sure what they are seeing and reading in the press is real.
Sincerely,
Rachel Khanna
And here is an original letter of February 8, 2026, not published by the Sentinel or, at least, no longer up, but reprinted here by FWIW without Kahanna’s express prior approval. In addition to including her party’s oh-so-tired Hitler trope, note these two excerpts that demonstrate her inability to recognize irony even when it bites her on her bottom:
“To date, the current administration has continued to undermine democratic norms by exerting control over the press”; and “We must stay engaged locally and nationally by defending our institutions: our courts, the press, our election system.” (No need to ask her position on voter ID)
Khanna: History is repeating itself. We must speak up.
My father was born in Germany and was in his 20s when Hitler came to power. He managed to escape to the Netherlands, where he helped in the Resistance. He and his first wife hid Jews and people who were on the German blacklist in a hole under their living room floor.
Ninety years later, I am reminded of what my father told me about his experiences, about how at first everything seemed normal: people still went to work and kids still went to school. And yet little by little things were changing. Rights were disappearing, fear was creeping in, and lies were becoming truth.
I’m reminded of sitting in my history class and not understanding why the Allied Powers appeased Hitler when he annexed Sudetenland – which is part of the Czech Republic today – and how the opposition in Germany was so easily subdued. This rollback of our rights and freedoms is what is happening now in our own country. We can’t fool ourselves into believing that history is not repeating itself. It is.
And we can’t fool ourselves into believing that we can sit on the sidelines and things will be ok. To date, the current administration has continued to undermine democratic norms by exerting control over the press including raiding journalists’ homes; they are condoning the shooting of innocent civilians exercising their first amendment rights; they are grabbing up voter rolls and election ballots; and they are threatening to seize a sovereign territory.
This is not a time to turn away. If we want to protect our democracy, we must speak up and we must speak out. We must stay engaged locally and nationally by defending our institutions: our courts, the press, our election system. And we must build community. It’s in our hands.
Rachel Khanna is a former State Representative in the 149th district and today is the Democratic member of the Greenwich Board of Selectmen
Just another wannabe dictator, employing her party’s usual tactic of projecting her own behavior onto her enemies. It’s a shame she’s in our local government.