E. Letters to the Editor (LTE)

Introduction

Writing a Letter to the Editor (LTE) or organizing a LTE campaign for your supporters can be an effective way to spread the message you want about your issue or your group. Additionally, with passionate volunteers or group leaders, LTEs cost your organization nothing apart from the time and energy it takes to write.

LTEs direct a comment to a news publication in response to articles, editorials, videos and op-eds published there. If an article is even tangentially about your issue—let’s say it has to do with the actions of a city council, for example, or an environmental issue that is relevant to you but maybe not directly on point—a well-crafted LTE can introduce readers to your issue and invite them to think more deeply about what needs to be done.

Many community leaders and political and elected figures are known to monitor letters to the editor, and since each LTE is usually word-limited to somewhere between 150-250 words, they are easily digestible for readers and can reach a very broad section of the engaged public.

Tips for writing and submitting LTEs:

Check to see if your paper has a word count limit for LTEs, op-eds
Set up a Google Search alert for your name and/or the name of your organization (one way to get notified if your submission is published)
Letters about an especially timely topic should often appear within one or two days—but most likely within a week to have a strong chance at publication
Include your contact information when submitting
Keep your LTE short, concise, and focused on only one subject for the best chance of getting printed/published online
Include a clear statement of position and clear justification for that position
Reference previous articles and coverage by the publication you are submitting to, if possible

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By Dan Sahr of Fired Up Campaigns with contributions from:

Eli Chen—Recently affiliated with St. Louis Public Radio and now with National Geographic and St. Louis area producer for “The Story Collider” a nonprofit media organization dedicated to true, personal stories about science. Eli has expertise on how to communicate scientific/environmental information to the public. She can be reached through her website at www.elichen.com.
Rebecca Rivas – staff reporter for The St. Louis American. She can be reached through her email, here.
Andy Ostmeyer – editor at the Joplin Globe. He can be reached through his email, here.
Bryce Gray— energy and environment reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He can be reached through his email here or (314) 340-8307.