Writing a letter to the editor is a way to express feelings about community issues, politics, or other topics. Follow guidelines, including word limits, staying on topic, and including contact information. Handwritten letters are not preferred. Letters can be a valuable resource for determining public opinion.
Upset about something happening in your community? Annoyed by your local paper’s editorial positions? Want to praise someone for something done right? Express your feelings by writing a letter to the editor.
The letter to the editor is a venerable institution. It has been around since newspapers first hit the streets and readers didn’t agree with the stories. A letter to the editor most often expresses dissatisfaction with something the publication has done or is doing. However, it can also address local or national politics, local, national or global issues, religion, or most any other topic under the sun.
Many people would like to write a letter to the editor, but don’t really know what they need to do to write an effective letter that has a chance of being published. It’s not difficult, if the person will follow some guidelines.
First, familiarize yourself with the publication’s letter policy. Shorter is generally better. If your post has a word limit, respect it. Don’t try to “stretch” a 300-word limit to 350 because what you have to say is so “important.” Publications have serious space rules, and a letter to the editor that falls within word limits is much more likely to be published.
Also, include any required contact information. Even if you want your letter to remain anonymous, please include your name, address and telephone number. Most postings use a name, city, and state. They rarely print phone numbers. Being willing to accept publication may not print anonymous letters and not insist if this is not their practice.
Second, stay on topic. If you’re writing about city council approval for funding the new subdivision, stay on that topic. Don’t go into all the other reasons you’re annoyed with the board, or throw personal attacks at any of the board members. A publication can be sued for anything that appears in its pages, even if no one wrote it. Thus, personal attacks practically guarantee that the letter will be discarded. Some people feel the need to include that information anyway, just to “let someone know” how crooked or unethical the person is. Do not do it. It just makes you look crazy.
Third, type or email your letter and pay attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but a letter sent in all caps, without any punctuation, will likely be trashed. If it is approved, someone has to decide where the punctuation should be and will spend time editing the letter that could be spent on other business.
A handwritten letter to the editor is an invitation to trash. They are impossible to read and must be retyped completely by hand. E-mail is preferable, but use the program’s spell-check feature and make it look like someone with more than a passing grasp of our native language wrote it. Most publications have a warning that the letters may be edited for clarity or grammar. Unless someone completely changes the meaning, don’t call and complain because someone changed your letter to the editor. It’s part of the process.
A letter to the editor can be a valuable resource for editors and publishers in determining public opinion. The letter to the editor is a crucial part of a free society.
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