LettertoEditor
AStep-by-StepGuidetoWritingEffectiveLetterstotheEditorthat
WillGetPublishedandGetNoticed!
The
Handbook
TeaPartyPatriotswww.teapartypatriots.org
Whatwewillcover:
• WhatisaLettertotheEditor?
• HowdoIwriteaLettertotheEditor?
• WhyshouldIwriteaLettertotheEditor?
• HowdoIimprovemychancesofgetting
published?
• SampleLettertoEditor
• Myletterwaspublished.Nowwhat?
WHATISALETTERTOTHE
EDITOR?
UnderstandingLetterstotheEditorAlettertotheeditorisaletterwrittentotheEditorofanewspaper.Theletterisanopportunityforyoutoexpressyouropinionaboutarecentarticlepublishedinthepaperoranissueinthenews.
Letterstotheeditorareusuallyfoundinthefirstsectionofanewspaper(generallytowardtheendofthefirstsection)ortowardthefrontof
magazines.
Letterstotheeditorareconciselettersthatgenerallymakeonlyonepoint–usuallyarguinginfavorof,oragainst,asinglepolicyorproposal.
Letterstotheeditorare:
• Usually350wordsorless
• Agreatwaytoprovideanalternativeviewpointtoyournewspaper’sreaders
• Anopportunitytocontinuealocalornationalconversation
HOWDOIWRITEA
LETTERTOTHEEDITOR?
TheBasicHow-To’s
Howtowritealettertotheeditor:
• Mostnewspaperspublishguidelineswiththeirspecific
requirementsforgettingaletterpublished.Besuretofollowthoseguidelinescarefully.
• Includeyournameandaddress,aswellasatelephonenumberwhereyoucanbereached.Manypaperswillnotpublishaletterwithoutfirstcontactingyou.
• Berespectfulandcourteous,evenwhendisagreeingwiththeEditorialBoardaboutaparticularissue.
• Bespecific. IfyouareopposedtoObamacare,forexample,mention
thespecific reasonswhy.Provideexamples.
• Providerelevantdetailsthatapplytoyourlocalcommunity.Readersofthepaperwillbefarmorelikelytorelatetoexamplesthatare
specifictoyourcommunity.
• Citeyoursources.Ifyouincludeanyquotedmaterial,besuretocite
everythingcorrectly.
• Usepropergrammarandproofreadyourletterforanyspellingerrors.
WHYSHOULDIWRITEA
LETTERTOTHEEDITOR?
WhyshouldIspendthetimewritingalettertotheeditor?Writingalettertotheeditorisanimportantengagementtoolforactivists.Theselettersallowactiviststodothefollowing:
1)Reachabroaderaudiencethanyounormallywouldhave;2)Holdyourlocaljournalistsaccountable;3)Presentalternativeviewsonpoliticalissues.
Letterstotheeditorareaninexpensivewaytocommunicatewithalargesegmentofyourcommunity.
HOWDOIIMPROVEMYCHANCESOFGETTING
PUBLISHED?
Improvingyourchancesofgettingpublished.Noteverylettertotheeditorwillbepublished,ofcourse,buttherearecertainbestpracticesyoucanfollowthatwillgreatlyenhanceyourchancesofgettingpublished.
Yourletterismorelikelytobepublishedifit…
• Is300wordsorless
• Hasperfectgrammarandspelling
• Addressesarecentop-edorarticleinthepaper
• Addressesacurrentevent,nationaldiscussion,orpieceoflegislation
• Iscourteousandrespectful
• Makesaclearargument
• Providesauniqueinsightorspecificexamplethathasnotalreadybeenpublishedinthepaper.
SAMPLELETTERTOEDITOR
SamplelettertotheeditorDearEditor,
SincethelateJusticeAntoninScalia’stragicpassinglastmonth,DemocratsintheSenatehavetoldusrepeatedlyabouttheimportanceoffillingthevacancyimmediatelywithanObamanominee.Butthatargumentrunsdirectlyoppositeofhistoricalprecedent,theDemocrats’ownrecordfromthelasttenyears,andthewishesofmanyAmericanswhowouldprefertowaituntilanewpresidentisswornintoofficenextJanuary.
Onthefirstpointabouthistoricalprecedent,weseethatithasbeenmorethan80yearssinceanelection-yearvacancywasfilledthesameyear.TheDemocratswouldlikeustobelievethatitisextraordinarilyrareforaSupremeCourtseattoremainunfilled;inreality,itwouldbehistoricallysignificantifJusticeScalia’sseatweretobefilledduringthiselectionyear.
OnthesecondpointoftheDemocrats’recordontheissueoffillingjudicialvacancies,theDemocratstodayintheSenateprobablywishwedidnothavesucheasyonlineaccesstotheirvotingrecords,floorstatements,andYouTubevideos.AsimpleGooglesearchrevealsthatSens.Schumer,Leahy,Reid,andDurbinrepeatedlyobstructedPresidentGeorgeW.Bush’sjudicialnominees– andtheydidsobeforePresidentBushwasinhisfinalmonthsinoffice.VicePresidentBiden,whopreviouslyservedintheSenate,voted29timestofilibusterRepublicanjudicialnominees. PresidentObama,too,votedtopreventanyconfirmationvoteforSupremeCourtnomineeSamuelAlito.
Finally,onthethirdpointabouttheAmericanpublic’swishes,itisimportanttorememberthatelectionshaveconsequences.Ofcourse,theDemocratswouldprefertoforgetthatthe2014electionsevertookplace.AmericansgavetheGOPthemajorityintheSenate,inlargepartbecausewewantedtomakesurethatPresidentObama’srecklessagendawouldnotberubber-stampedduringhislasttwoyearsinoffice.PartofPresidentObama’sagendanowincludesmakinghisthirdappointmenttotheSupremeCourt,buttheresimplyisnoreasontorushthisprocess.
Oneachofthesepoints– historicalprecedentoverthelastcentury,theDemocrats’ownrecordonthetopic,andthewishesoftheAmericanpeople– RepublicanSenatorsareonfirmgroundtorefusetoholdaJudiciaryCommitteehearingthisyearonanyObamanomineetotheCourt.
Itisimportantforustoremind[INSERTTHENAMESOFBOTHOFYOURUNITEDSTATESSENATORS]thatpartoftheirdutyintheSenateistoserveasacheckontheexecutive’spower.AmericanswanttobeheardthisNovemberandthereisnoreasontofillthevacancyontheCourtbeforetheelection.
MYLETTERWASPUBLISHED.NOWWHAT?
Afteryourletterispublished…Congratulations!Yourlettertotheeditorhasbeenpublished!Nowthereareseveralwaystoamplifyyourmessageandensurethatanevenlargeraudiencereadsyourletter.
Suggestionsforwhattodoafteryourletterispublished:
• Emailyourletter(includethelink,nameofthepublication,aswellasthetextofyourletterintheemail)toyourfriendsandfamily.
• Posttheletteronsocialmedia.UseFacebookandTwitter,orevenLinkedIn.
• SendTeaPartyPatriotsalinktoyourarticlesowecanshareit.