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Strategic Public Relations
How to Write A Letter
to the Editor
Overview
Letters to the editor usually respond or react to news
stories, editorials, or other letters that appeared in
the newspaper in recent days or weeks. A letter might
take issue with a reporter’s description of the facts,
for example, or with something said by a person quoted
in an article.
Letters to the editor receive heavy attention from
activists, political leaders, and community residents.
And because local newspapers often print letters from
ordinary citizens (in contrast to op-eds or guest
columns), they offer one of the most effective ways to
deliver your message. Moreover, new opportunities crop
up every day as more and more newspapers “publish” cyber
letters on their websites.
Challenge
Letters to the editor are among the hardest pieces to
write. Just because they’re short doesn’t mean that it’s
easy to write one that a newspaper will actually print.
Remember the old saying, “I would have written a shorter
speech if I’d had more time.”
The biggest challenge in writing a letter to the editor
is making a compelling point in a brief space while
still ensuring that readers can follow your argument
even if they didn’t see the news story to which you’re
responding. And it helps if the letter offers a clever,
provocative, and as yet unexpressed perspective on an
issue.
At the
Washington Post, for example, the most important
rule editors use in deciding whether to print a letter
is “Beware of predictability.” So say something no one
else has said. And remember, newspapers receive hundreds
of letters a day, so yours must stand out to be printed.
Not an easy feat in only 200–300 words! With careful
thought about what you want to communicate and a
well-written letter, your chances of publication will
increase and allow you to provide another idea or
perspective on an issue.
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