Using Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds
Letters to the editor are another important media tool. Letters and
opinion articles in your local newspaper can help make issues of hunger
and poverty part of the campaign debate. Not only will your opinion piece
be read by the newspaper’s subscribers, but there’s a good chance the
candidates will read it themselves. Your letter could call on all of the candidates to address extreme poverty, hunger, and diseases such as AIDS
and malaria in their campaign platforms.
Writing Tips
“The fight
against hunger
and poverty is
an issue of vital
importance...”
Be sure to consult the news outlet’s guidelines
before writing a letter or an op-ed. Most news websites will post guidelines on the same page as the
“opinion” or “contact us” section. Newspapers
generally print guidelines on their editorial page.
If you’re not able to find the guidelines, simply call the news outlet to
request them.
• Keep your letter to 250 words or less (two or three short paragraphs).
• Be aware that op-ed articles run around 600 words and usually
have a lead time of two or three weeks (publications receive a lot of
submissions).
• Refer to a recent article in the newspaper about a relevant issue or
a candidate’s visit to your town.
• Include a fact about hunger or poverty that supports your opinion.
• Try to use your own words and a personal or local perspective as
you write.
Some Points to Make in Your Letter or Op-Ed:
• As candidates ask for my support, I’ll be asking them what they
plan to do to address the challenges of hunger and poverty.
• The fight against hunger and poverty is an issue of vital importance, both to our nation’s security and to our world’s future. Yet
rarely does it receive the attention it deserves from either the candidates or the media.
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