Why U-T’S letters to to the editor have been running four days a week

The Union-tribune’s opinion section runs unsigned editorials and letters to the editor four days a week in print. Reader and regular letter writer Jim Varnadore of City Heights wondered why not then publish letters on the three days when there are no unsigned editorials.

“Readers always have something to say,” Varnadore wrote in an email. “Their letters are interesting. Not lightly dismissed; a point I hope I have made clear over the years. I hope you agree.”

As a former letters editor at the U-T, I agree. I like reading letters to the editor in print. So why do letters run four days a week in print and not seven? (Letters run every day on the U-T’S website.)

One reason is that on the three days they don’t appear, the opinion section is just one page. It’s two pages Thursday, Friday and Saturday and three pages Sunday — all days when letters appear in print.

At one time, letters ran every day on the editorial pages. But then COVID-19 hit. Editorial and Opinion Director Matthew T. Hall decided the pages needed to change in response to the pandemic that affected everyone. He wanted more locally written commentaries. To make room in print, letters came off the page Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

“It began as a way to share deep and daily expert opinions at a time when people wanted and needed them,” Hall said. “It began as a public service, and continues in the same vein.”

Hall said he wanted to give readers knowledgeable and experienced sources — those “who could write with clarity and authority about the havoc being wrought.”

He said he heard from many who appreciate the different voices now appearing as commentaries in the opinion section.

Hall also started another feature that is not commentaries. In fact, they are longer letters to the editor. It’s called “Your Say”; it appears Saturdays in addition to regular, shorter letters to the editor.

“We wanted a platform that featured longer, more in-depth essays than 150word letters to the editor that were also shorter than full-length 750-word commentaries to allow us to share more thoughtful pieces on a single subject on a single day,” Hall said. “It’s been a wild success, and I’m glad we can give the public such a platform. It features a range of voices on a range of subjects, always thoughtfully.”

Letters might not run in print three days a week, but fresh letters still appear those days on the U-T’S website, a place where an increasing number of readers go for news instead of print.

Letters editor Andrew Kleske chooses the letters that appear online and in print.

“Hot issues and topics that see the most submissions tend to be the letters that get in the paper,” Kleske said, “though we also throw in some unique letters that raise a topic that we think may be of interest to readers or raise a question that they have about our news coverage.”

Also to increase the chances of a letter being published, writers should keep their item concise (150 words or fewer), honest, civil and thought-provoking, Kleske said. On the flip side, letters have no chance of appearing if writers use rude language, pejorative statements, personal attacks and attempt to perpetuate a known lie or distortion, Kleske said. “We have had letter writers argue they have a right to pose a lie as opinion, but we tell them we have to stick to facts.”

The email address to submit letters to the editor is letters@sduniontribune.com.

To see read letters online, go to sandiegouniontribune.com/letters. They appear under the headline “Readers React.”

Where is ‘Whoville’?

A reader emailed a few weeks back about the outdoors column written by freelance columnist Ernie Cowan, who regularly writes about the happenings of nature on Mt. Whoville. The reader asked, “Where is Mt. Whoville?”

Mt. Whoville is the name of Cowan’s 1.5-acre property on top of a long, narrow mountain north of Escondido.

“A friend visiting as we were building our home commented that ‘it looks like Whoville down there,’ referring to the glittering lights below,” Cowan said. “Thus we began calling it Mt. Whoville about 16 years ago.

“Our goal was to create a wildlife country club where our wild neighbors could come and feed, drink, hang out, nest and prosper. We have planted many native plants, and have no fences, and our gardens blend off into the native vegetation. We have observed nearly 60 species of birds, and most of the local wildlife population, including, raccoons, possums, coyotes and pups, bobcats, many species of snakes, including rattlesnakes, tarantulas, squirrels, and our lovable quail and their tiny chicks.”

Cowan’s column appears today on B3. It runs every other week.