There are two types of letters that you can write: those that you intend for publication and those that you send directly to editors and reporters but do not intend to have them published.

If you intend your letter to be considered for publication, keep the following in mind:

• Explicitly indicate that you would like the letter to be considered for publication before the main text.
• Keep the letter to 150 words or less.
• Address the letter to: “Letters editor”.
• Send the letter to the official “letters” address. Sending it only to the news editor or reporter will reduce chances of your letter getting considered for publication (you may cc them, however).
• Keep your letter focused on specifically ONE point and state that point at the beginning of the letter.
• If you are reacting to a specific item that was published in the newspaper or magazine, explicitly refer to the item in your opening sentence by stating the title, the date of publication, and the page in the paper, if applicable.
• If you are asserting facts, provide references below the letter.
• Provide your full name, home address, and a phone number you can be reached. If your daytime and evening phone numbers are different, provide both.
• Avoid needlessly harsh language, but don’t be afraid to be passionate. Hysteria will not get you published, but don’t be afraid to express your anger, as long as you stick to a point of substance.

Whether you intend your letter to be published or not, it is important that you ponder every word carefully, lest you propagate the ideology and myths you are trying to combat. A list of proposed terminology can be found at: http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/language/

Here are a few sample letters:

Dear letters editor:

In her article of January 4th, 2000 ("Violence has only strengthened settlers' resolve"), Naomi Morris refers to Binyamin and Talia Kahane as "two prominent settlers". While it is correct that the two slain Israelis were indeed “prominent settlers”, I found it strange that the writer failed to mention to her readers that Binyamin Kahane was in fact head of the Jewish Defense League, an organization committed to ridding Israel of all Arab presence.

Ms. Morris should trust her readers with the facts, all the facts, and only the facts, rather than suppress inconvenient bits and pieces.


[Full Name Here]
[Home Address Here]
[Daytime Phonenumber Here]
[Evening Phonenumber Here]

Dear letters editor:

Deborah Sontag's article "Should Israel Sacrifice its Hopes for Peace for Settlers?" (Nov. 15) notes that Israelis are divided on the question whether Israel should continue to maintain settler outposts planted in the West Bank and Gaza.

The article fails to explain the Israeli government's purpose in creating the so-called "settlements" in the first place. Under a program begun by Shimon Peres and his Labor government just after the 1967 war -- and expanded dramatically by Ariel Sharon and others after Likud took power in the late 1970s -- Israel sought to create a network of armed colony villages throughout the occupied territories. Its purpose was to create "facts on the ground" and thereby to prevent the creation of a fully autonomous Palestinian entity.

It should be no surprise, then, that the colonies today remain one of the greatest obstacles to a peace agreement that Palestinians could accept with dignity.


[Full Name Here]
[Home Address Here]
[Daytime Phonenumber Here]
[Evening Phonenumber Here]