MEDIA LETTER WRITING GUIDELINES

by Elka Ruth Enola

Generally, when many people send Letters to the Editor about the same topic, more of them are likely to get printed. When only one or two letters supporting or opposing a topic are received, the paper tends to conclude that this is not a topic of wide concern and would likely not print any of them. The exception is a unique point of view that is not part of a public campaign.

When a newspaper gets several identical letters, they will most likely ignore them. So it is critical that the letter you send be as individualized as possible. The content can be the same for a whole group of people, but the actual manner of expressing yourself must be individualized.

Sending letters by email is not only perfectly acceptable, but often is preferred. The old notion that paper letters carry more weight than emailed letters is just that, an old notion.

To improve the chances of having your letter printed
-Be as brief as possible. Remove any word that is not critical to the sense of your letter.
-The first sentence should make your position clear.
-If you have had a specific experience related to the topic, mention it.
-If your suggested form letter mentions 5 points, you might choose one and elaborate on it.
-In the subject line of your email put either the topic (e.g. House of Commons Behavior) or the newspaper article being referred to (e.g. Tournament in Chaos’ May 14 2011, pg A23).
-When signing give your full name, full address and phone number.

When writing to the non- print media, e.g. TV, the same guidelines apply.

Both print and non-print media have on-line comment facilities. The above suggestions apply to that as well. When writing for on-line viewing keep paragraphs short. A screen full of text with little white space is strong turn-off.