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Letters to the Editor
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Educating fellow citizens and influencing public opinion can build a climate of interest, concern, and/or support for the cause you write about. Your letter can also empower others who agree with you by showing them that they are not alone in their beliefs. Just a few revisions are needed to convert communications with elected officials into a letter-to-the-editor. Your letter can make a direct contribution to forming public opinion. Letters to the editor are among the best-read features in a newspaper and they reach a wide cross-section of the community that may not otherwise be aware of your message. Elected representatives do read the paper and they do want to know how their voters feel about the issues. |
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1. |
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Follow the guidelines
for submission carefully. You must follow the paper's editorial policy.
Check the rules that are usually printed in the paper or call the office
directly.
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2. |
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Authenticate your
submission. Every newspaper requires that you include your name, address
(not a P.O. Box), phone number, and signature. The Oxford Press and
Hamilton Journal News accept email letters via their web sites at www.oxfordpress.com
and www.journal-news.com. A newspaper will often contact you by phone
to obtain verification. The Journal News must contact you before they
will print your letter. |
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3. |
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Brevity is important
for impact. In a letter to the editor, brevity is mandatory. If you
have a longer piece that is well-researched and of major public interest,
you can request to have it published as an "op-ed" that occurs
'opposite to the editorial' and is another specialty section of the
paper. |
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4. |
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Follow the guidelines
for communicating with elected officials: deal with only one topic,
provide a strong and interesting first sentence, cite the context for
your letter in a way that is clear to most of the readers; and suggest
a clear, pro-active course of action. |
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