We are often asked if we run all the letters to the editor sent to us by readers.
The answer is, almost.
Not all letters make it to publication for a number of reasons.
For example, if the letter is libelous, it’s toast. Libel is nasty, and besides, both the letter writer and its publisher can be sued. It’s best if we don’t call people liars and thieves, unless so proven in a court of law.
Because of the largely agricultural nature ofThe Western Producer,letters that do not speak to our readers are usually rejected. We try to stay within topic areas of interest to farmers and people in rural communities.
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That’s not to say general news isn’t of interest to our readers – everyone has been watching the debt crisis in Europe, the crazy political bickering in the United States, and the riots in the streets of English cities.
However, theProduceris an agricultural paper, and we’re unlikely to cover all of those items due to that focus.
So, if you write a letter condemning Moammar Gadhafior supporting the closure of German nuclear facilities, this may not be your venue.
That said, many global news stories do have an impact on our readers. A good example was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Those events were likely to affect agriculture and trade, so they became part of our coverage. Letters addressing the attenuating issues would have been welcome.
Letters also have to make sense. The occasional letters do not make a point, are contradictory, or are so rambling that they’re hard to understand.
We also do not publish open letters; letters that are miles too long (because they’re almost impossible to fairly edit); stacks of letters sent to us in a campaign; unsigned letters; or letters we cannot confirm, because we can’t find the author’s phone number. All letters are confirmed with the writer before publishing.
And, because of the weekly nature of the WP and the volume of submissions, sometimes it takes two weeks or more to get the letter on the page.
That may seem like a long list of no’s, but I would estimate we publish 90 percent of the letters sent to us. Bring them on.
