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.