Consider this a letter from the editor.
Over the last months, my clerk (the indispensable Stephanie Brown) and I have fielded complaints from readers whose letters haven’t been printed. Most of the time we’re able to calm the readers down after explaining our policies, which are quite lenient in comparison with other papers of the same size.
In many cases, if letters haven’t appeared, especially during a busy spell, it’s simply a matter of dealing with a backlog of letters to be edited, typed into the system or documented. In others, it’s because the policies posted daily on the page weren’t followed: Perhaps the letter was potentially libelous, threatening or obscene; it was from out of state; it used a pseudonym or was unsigned; or it was poetry, copyrighted material or a form or chain letter.
Some of the most common complaints:
I’ve sent in 10 letters this month and none have been printed. Are you trying to keep the truth from readers? No. Sending several letters in a short span of time will not assure you of being printed. The rule is one letter per writer in the span of 30 days (but that doesn’t mean you will be printed every 30 days). As for that truth, that depends on what the documentation process reveals.
And just so you know, sending the same letter multiple times won’t ensure that it gets printed, so save trees and time, please. And calling to demand your letter be printed? Bad idea for oh so many reasons, not the least of which is we don’t cater to bullies.
But I have documentation-lots of it. This story has been picked up everywhere but the lamestream media! We rely primarily on original sources where possible. The exact same story picked up on multiple sites counts as one source. If we can’t verify much of the letter (or just if the main point is unverifiable), the letter likely won’t be printed. The same rules apply to quotes-if a quote’s provenance doesn’t check out, out it goes.
Aha! You only print what you agree with on the page. You’re censoring me! No on both counts. Censoring is generally a government function in societies with state-run media, which the U.S. is not.
We do our best to print opinion from all over the political, religious and societal spectrum on the page, which is why it’s called Voices, not Voice. There are many letters we publish that I don’t agree with, but my feelings don’t, and shouldn’t, matter.
My letters have always printed … until you. Why are you publishing these crackpots instead of me? That would be because those “crackpots” are readers who submitted letters that passed all the tests (including the “breakfast test,” as well as not harassing our staff) and who had some interesting/new thing to say rather than repeating what the talking heads have shouted. No one gets all their letters printed, and there are a lot of points of view in this state. Opening up the page to a wider variety of opinion gives a clearer picture of the state; believe me, more people are moderate than on either end of the spectrum.
But if you don’t print my letter, you’re violating my freedom of the press! Not quite. You have freedom of speech; the media has freedom of the press. Though there are limitations such as libel (press) and slander (speech), you can say what you want in most cases, but that doesn’t mean a newspaper-a private business entity-is required to publish it.
As it is, we wouldn’t be able to print all the letters we receive, which in addition to anonymous, out-of-state and other unprintables often include claims of criminal activity or commentary on current ongoing criminal and/ or court cases, or letters about public figures that repeat claims proven false by reputable, nonpartisan fact-checkers who provide sources. That leaves us with, if we’re lucky, about 50 percent of the letters, and several of those will fail further documentation, be pulled by the writer, or age out. We also sometimes get bogged down after major news events.
The editorial writers and columnists get unlimited space. I demand the same! Our staff writers still have to stay within the space they’re given, so it’s not exactly unlimited; plus, it’s their job to fill that space. Letter writers also have to stay within a certain amount of space, in their case, no more than 6 ½ inches, which on average is about-but not necessarily-250 words.
You changed my letter! As stated in the policy box, letters are edited. Most need little to no editing to make sense to the average reader, but others require extensive editing for grammar, misspellings, missing words, etc. The aim, though, is always to try to keep the writer’s original intent intact. Sometimes we fall short, but most of the time we make it at least a little better. Everybody needs an editor, even editors.
We’re a small staff and, unfortunately, cannot clear every edit with letter writers. If there’s something we’re confused about, or documentation we’re unable to track down, we will call, but the volume of letters we receive makes it impossible for us to go through the editing process with each writer and still put out a page by deadline.
You cut out vital facts and edited my letter according to your liberal/communist/socialist/Tea Party/right-wingnut/fill-in-the-blank bias!! Our political leanings here are our own and have nothing to do with how letters are edited. And as other letters editors have noted, you are always entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.
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Assistant Editor Brenda Looper is editor of the Voices page.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 09/28/2013