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Show Editors love those letters: Hints on writing them the editor's column ;'; rl &) I I B ,MARC If J I HADDOCK Editors love letters. We love happy letters and angry letters, letters about items of national importance and letters about the weather, letters about the school board, the city council or the county commission -- commending a job well done or condemning an unfair action. I get a lot of mail, most of it junk. My favorite kind of mail is a letter to the editor. One letter, no matter how caustic, is cause for a smile. When an entire class sends in a bunch of letters to the editor, it's almost better than skiing in fresh Utah powder - almost - or maybe even seeing BYU win an important game, for a change. We have an old saying in the newspaper business: "Freedom of the press belongs to the person who owns one." That's a cynical view of our First Amendment freedoms, although it is no more cynical than most things newspaper people say about their business. But it is accurate to the extent that often an individual's right to disseminate an idea or viewpoint is limited by his or her forum - and the person who owns the press controls the forum. In most newspapers, this power is offset by the publisher's and editor's willingness to provide a public forum for ideas - a space for letters to the editor -- where ordinary folks Although we tend to be cynical, we editors are also still idealistic enough to feel good when we provide that kind of a service to our readers. Of course, most people never write a letter to the editor. Most have neither the need or the inclination. Large daily papers have enough readers to generate enough letters to keep most of the rest of the readers stirred up, but weekly newspapers just don't have the numbers to do that. Also, many of us small town folks seem less inclined to spread our opinion all over town in the newspaper, when we can do it over the backyard fence more easily. So a bunch of letters are a cause for rejoicing - and this week has been a good week. One of the local high school classes tackled the task of writing letters to the editor and I now have enough letters, at least for our American Fork paper, to keep things stirred up for a long time. For the most part, the letters are good. They are short, concise and well written. They deal with local and state issues that matter. Others prompt me to give some advice that might help prospective letter writers produce letters that will be printed, and then be read and understood by other readers. Here are a few rules to help write letters to the editor: -Keep it short. Long letters either don't get printed or get edited before they are printed so they fit. Also, a short letter is usually a sign that the writer spent some time getting an idea in presentable form. Going beyond that, follow the rules that Ernest Hemingway identified as the best rules for writing he ever encountered: "Keep your words short. Keep you sentences short. Keep your paragraphs short." -Stick to the point. Don't be led astray by stray ideas. If a sentence doesn't help you make your case, take it out. You're letter will be better. -Get your facts straight, especially if you are writing about controversial issues. Inaccuracies that could easily have been checked out destroy the credibility of the author and his opinion. And don't expect an editor to risk a libel suit on the basis of your claims if they can't be substantiated. Editors as a rule are not afraid of the truth, but they don't like to go to court on the basis of unsubstantiated claims in a letter to the editor. -Be specific. One of the letters that came from the high school students carries a blanket charge of our publication carrying "untrue facts." Then the reader pulls back: "I would not exactly call them Mies,' but the facts are not the whole truth." I can live with that, if I know which untrue facts a reader is concerned about. In this case, that's as specific as the charge gets, and it invalidates the charge. We go through a lot of information in a week. If a reader can't pinpoint what he feels is untrue, it doesn't help me find it. -Address the issue rather than a personality. It is much easier in making an argument to attack a person making a charge rather than attacking a charge, but it does little to illuminate an issue. -Don't be malicious. Name-calling Name-calling does little to make a case, although it is a good way to make people angry. Try to make a well-reasoned well-reasoned argument without resorting to cheep shots. -Avoid sarcasm, unless you know what you are doing. Humor is great for making a point, but sarcasm requires a delicate touch and often a writer will end up endorsing an idea he is trying to ridicule. Or else he will hopelessly confuse his reader. -Sign your name, even if you don't want it printed. If you fear recriminations, explain that to the editor with a note at the bottom of the letter. Editors respect your wish for anonymity, as long as they can see a good reason for it. Usually letters that are signed have more impact and more credibility than unsigned letters, and a name is the most powerful element in a letter to ik a sign that the let t behind his ideas rite. ' I refuse to consider u. letter where I am Zl t the writer as are J But I will SS?' the writer's confiden t reason. I usually do L calling the writer letter person-to-perst1:..' -Don't write, "I hpi , print this." I,'s manipulative and is r "!? for an editor to t B V editors don't mind it comes with the inh lc: but the "I dare VoU.da letter writing is jiicat:? to not print a letter. B! -After you write the letter r. out loud. If it sounds o : t probably reaokayasj5' I'm not advocating ,M, i you-talk philosophy. We very coherently. Re7 transcript and you'll J,? mean. But if what you read comfortable, ,t is probab, ; fortable to read as well Andif--you say when you read doesa'i r sense, the reader won't under I it either. "i -Finally, write, write, wrin opinion is worth something. And editors just lovelelters 1 can have access to the newspaper's general circulation. Most editors love ideas, and enjoy seeing those ideas tossed about in a search for truth or justice, or just in an attempt to make people think. And providing a forum for public comment is one of the services that a newspaper can supply as no one else can. |
