The editorial department is accustomed to a bit of a break in correspondence immediately following an election. So it is a bit surprising to type “inundated” and “deluge” to describe the stream of letters the Herald has continued to receive since November.
We reached out to members of an association of opinion journalists to ask for advice on how to handle what amounts to over 60 letters to the editor waiting to be printed. We could use your help too.
Chuck Frederick, an editorial page editor in Duluth, Minn., was sympathetic. He said they are having the same issue. He chose his words carefully. An editorial page staffer would never call a lot of letters a problem. Nor do we.
Our problem is that we know our readers and writers expect to see their letters in print in a timely fashion, and when they do not will sometimes write to us again and inquire if we received the letter. Neither expectation nor response is unreasonable. We are simply limited in the space we have to print each and every letter we receive, as is our long-standing policy.
At the daily rate of anywhere from 2-4 letters being printed per page and 6-10 on Sundays, with more letters coming in daily and a city council election and fluoride vote on the horizon, it may be hard to catch up.
We initially thought we might post all letters online at DurangoHerald.com/opinion as quickly as we receive them, but how to decide which letters to print? As we wrote back in September in an editorial on the topic, letters are handled on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no special placement except when a letter pertains to a specific event or time factor.
Well, Chuck saved us for the time being. He suggested we skip a nationally syndicated columnist or two on occasion, like today. This allows us to be responsive to some participants in last month’s focus group sessions, who expressed a preference for more local news and voices, and allows us to accommodate more letters in print (which also always go online).
Here is where you come in. Please try to submit letters with fewer than 350 words. That is, indeed, our word limit, but shorter letters tend to be better. As we say in the trade, “I didn’t have time to write short.” Please take the time to try. If your points have been made in another writer’s letter, think about whether or not yours on the same topic will add anything new. If not, consider sitting out a turn or writing on a different topic. What issues have gone unaddressed? Do some research and share your findings.
We will catch up on letters, and with your help we can afford more space for more community members to share their point of view.
“Letters,” we also wrote in September, “are the heart and soul of the Opinion section...a place to express yourself, a place for community discussion and debate. It is Durango’s public square and bulletin board...and how Durangoans talk to each other.”
We vigorously defend your right to express yourself in this forum. Please help us present the best, most timely, editorial pages possible.
