A space for our community
To the editor,
It’s your paper, you can print letters to the editor in any fashion, style, or frequency that ‘s your choose. If you are going to have guidelines, requirements and restrictions for letters to the editor, you should be fair and follow them. You have reserved the right for yourself, to decide what letters to the editor you want to print. If I write a letter to the editor and you choose not to print it for whatever reason that’s your right. I have no concern with that.
You have a restriction, one letter per month per person. Now it was not explained if that means one letter every thirty days or if that means for example, one letter in May, one letter in June, one letter in July etc. I have submitted letters under both assumptions and was disappointed in the outcome. Whereas some of the letter writers letters are printed under both assumptions.
There are three persons that write letters to the editor regularly, I have observed and kept record of the print date of their letters to the editor, it seem that the one letter per month per person don’t apply to them. It look like their letters get special consideration concerning the one letter per month per person restriction. Some of their letters will be less than thirty days and sometimes two times in the same month. I have tried both situations and get no results. I just assume you are just exercising your right to print the letters, you want to print, it’s ok that’s your right as stated in you instruction for writing letters to the editor.
It’s your paper. You make the rules and give the instruction. The right thing is, if you have rules and restrictions they should apply to all.
Ralph Williams
Editor’s note: Thanks for writing in, Ralph. You’re correct, I did raise the word limit from 350 to 500 words per letter, which I explained in an early column, but I failed to address the frequency. I think once a month is too limited. I want our readers to send in letters as often as they like, and we’ll print them as space allows. If we have writers who go a little overboard, I’ll address that with them individually. But I want more, not fewer, letters. Our opinion page should be a space where our community has an opportunity to share their thoughts, concerns, perspectives, praise and more.