Writing to Newpapers

Anyone who reads the letters pages of local newspapers will notice the same writers appearing all the time. This is the case even when the letters are inarticulate, badly-drafted or plain pointless. The reality is that, despite the wide readership, few people actually take the trouble to write to the editor. Of the four letters, I have written to the West Australian, a state-wide publication, three have been published. I urge contributors to this forum to write to the letters editor of their local paper, which you can now do without moving away from your computer.

Obviously, the usual rules apply: be civil, compose your ideas logically, think over what you have written before hitting the “send” button. But there are a couple of other important considerations. 1. Keep it short. The shorter the letter, the greater the probability of being published. Also, the less it will be edited. 2. Bear in mind the interests of the paper itself, they do not want any come back against them (which is why they say things like “Man Accused of…” before implying guilt by using words like “victim”.) So, if you write something that they take any risk in publishing, then you are unlikely to be published.

Even if you do not wish your name, address and contact details to be published, the newspaper still needs to know them. Include a phone number so that they can call to confirm that you are indeed the sender of the letter before they publish it.

My last letter was one sentence long, merely pointing out that an MP was claiming a presumption of innocence after his government made changes to domestic violence laws removing any such presumption from fathers accused of DV.

Single line letters could be effective in pointing out:

  1. that exactly the same arguments apply to male circumcision as to female circumcision and that only one of these practices is illegal.
  2. That special privileges for women imply that women are, in fact, not equal to men.
  3. That courts do not enforce visitation rights although they do enforce financial support obligations.
  4. That affirmative action in favour of females still exists even where they are in the majority e.g. university. Etc.

Let’s bombard local newspapers with short, direct letters supporting our causes.