Letters to the editor
DASA
Digital Journalism 1
Writing a letter to the editor
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The letters to the editor section of your local
paper is an ideal forum for sharing your
opinion and story with the local
community. Some issues and editorials
generate a robust debate. In addition, it is
one of the first pages many elected officials
turn to. Letters to the editor show that an
issue is of concern to the community and
are excellent tools for education. Here are a
few guidelines for getting your letter to the
editor printed.
Tips for writing a letter to the
editor:
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Address it “Dear Editor”
Editors cut from the bottom, so put your main point at the beginning.
Make your letter timely-current issue being discussed.
Choose ONE issue for your letter.
Try to say how the issue will affect you.
Limit the number of points you make and stay on the same subject.
Keep your letter short-150 to 250 words.
Refute or support specific statements; address relevant facts that are
ignored.
Support your facts but keep it concise (short).
Make a well-reasoned argument.
Make it strong but not vulgar or libelous.
It is very important to sign your letter and leave a phone that you can be
reached at. Most papers will not publish a letter to the editor without
confirming that the identity of the writer.
Don't be disappointed if your letter does not get printed because newspapers get lots of mail and
they can’t print them all. They will pick a representative sample of letters and print those.
Sample letters to the editor
See the handout and also
Check today’s Free Press or News
online in the Opinion section.
Class Work
Write a letter to the editor
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Pretend you are responding to a recent
editorial on any issue you want or read an
editorial and write a letter to the editor.
(If you write a letter to the editor
about a current issue, you can e-mail
it to the Free Press or News for extra
credit. Don’t send it until I approve
it.)
You can e-mail the letter to me in your email or on a Word document and attach it
to an e-mail. Don’t forget to save your
work in your flash drive or document file.