Advocacy Toolkit

Media and Publicity

Letters to the Editor

A letter to the editor will respond either in favor of or in opposition to a story written on an issue. Also letters to the editor communicate your opinion about an issue. Letters to the editor are most often written by local concerned citizens and are not necessarily from an organization. Papers receive a great many letters to the editor. The more people who send letters to the editor on one topic, the better chance that one will get printed.

The best way to get a letter to the editor printed is to respond to a recent news story: if possible, submit your letter the day the article appears. However, some smaller papers will print letters on any topic of interest to the local community. Check out the letters in your local paper to find out what styles they print!

An effective letter to the editor will:

• Reference the title, date and author of the original piece in your opening sentence (most newspapers only publish letters in response to articles, but check your newspaper's letters section, some smaller papers accept letters on any topic even if it was not mentioned in a previous printed article)
• Carry its most important point in the first paragraph
• Be between 100 and 200 words, shorter is better (no more than three quick paragraphs)
• Suggest what the reporter/author should have said
• Include your name, city, state, and affiliation as well as contact information (day and evening)