When it comes to Leader letters to the editor, you really can’t make this stuff up.
That’s what I told the Festus woman who accused me of doing just that.
“Some of the letters I see in the Leader are so unbelievable. Are you doing a Silence Dogood on us?” she asked. “Are you making up letters like Benjamin Franklin did?”
I assured her that was not the case, that I couldn’t and wouldn’t do such a thing. And then I detailed the actions I take to try to ensure that published letters are authentic and the section itself is politically balanced.
By the time I was done, she was probably shaking her head, sorry she called. But I was left shaking my head over her assertions that the Leader withholds letters from the right in favor of letters from the left, that liberals are generally nastier than conservatives, and that I have a dog in the fight. Rebuttal: No, nope and no way.
However, the Leader is proud to receive quite a few more letters than we have space to print, so decisions have to be made. Keep reading to learn my preferences, developed over 14 months as queen of letters at Leader World Headquarters. There are things you can do to put the queen in a good mood, regardless of your political bent.
■ Salutation
Although it might appear I want letters addressed to “Your Majesty,” I actually will accept “To the editor,” as the salutation. Please do not address your letter to the person who wrote a column you agree or disagree with or to another letter writer. Submissions like that will be changed to address all Leader readers. After all, other readers need to be your true audience, not the individual who gored your particular ox.
■ Really be you
Give us your real name, your real town, and your real daytime phone number.
We care about this and go to some lengths to verify letters.
If I get a missive from a “new” writer, I call the given number and speak to the writer or leave a message. I check addresses and use computer search engines.
If I’m not confident that you exist and that I have your correct name (not your initials, not your “maiden” name, not your middle name when you really go by your first name), the letter goes in the “reject” file, with a written explanation, in case you call one day to ask why your letter got the deep-six.
This exchange happened a few months ago:
Me: “Could I speak to Eric Blair?”
Writer: “Nobody named Eric lives here.”
Me: “This is Peggy Bess from the Leader.”
Writer: “Oh! This is Eric.”
I never did learn Eric’s real name, but the letter was most certainly rejected.
■ Respect the 300-word preferred length
We set this limit many years ago to allow as many voices as possible. If one writer gets 600 words, another writer would get zero.
This week I received three well-written letters that exceeded the limit by 300 words apiece. OK, truth. They were all so good (two from the right, one from the left) I went ahead and edited them down and got them in at least one of our editions. But most weeks, I don’t have time and long letters sit unpublished. A shorter coherent letter gets in before a longer coherent letter.
■ If you use statistics, cite your source
This is not to say your information is untrue, but people on different sides of an issue often use numbers to support a predetermined opinion. It’s just the way the game is played, and the source matters.
■ Understand that your letter will be edited
Everything that appears in the Leader has been edited, including this column – for clarity, for grammar, for length, or because the writer has declared something a fact that must be described as an opinion.
If you send a letter demanding that no words be changed, your letter will play to an audience of one. You. Unless you can get your spouse to read it.
■ Try not to call names
At least not too much. A dish is tasteless without spice, and Pollyanna letters would be boring. But when it gets too personal and too mean, at least by my own barometer, I tweak – or I run a different letter. Remember, we have plenty to choose from.
■ Don’t use exclamation points
I, the queen, detest them. The letters we receive are riddled with exclamation points, and most of that extraneous punctuation is discarded – begone!! If you see an exclamation point on the page, know it got there only after careful consideration.
I feel the same way about the term “fake news,” and soon may prohibit it entirely from my kingdom (oops, queendom). SO overused and a contradiction in terms.
And, finally, please believe me when I tell you that the Leader takes balance seriously. Our aim is to represent points of view from all political stripes and firsthand accounts of life in Jefferson County, with quirky topics thrown in for fun.
If our letter writers all agreed with each other, why would you look at the page? Discussion is what we want, and I thank you for providing it, week after week.
I do admit to one prejudice. Well-written letters get me every time. Send in one of those, and odds are you’ll see it in print.
