Letter to the Editor

Submit your letter to the editor online.  Please note that we have a 450 word limit for our letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include printed name, address and phone number.

See below for our entire Letters to the Editor policy. 

The Standard-Gazette & Messenger welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level.

Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number. (Only name and city will be printed.) Letters should be limited to 450 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received.

Libelous, argumentative and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. 

POLITICAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

As a general rule, the newspaper does not endorse candidates for local office. Also as a general rule, the newspaper does not cover fundraising dinners or promotional gatherings limited to particular candidates or political parties.

Election-related news coverage will be at the sole discretion of the newspaper’s publisher, general manager and editor in the name of newsworthiness, reader interest and information.

Also:

1) Election-related letters MUST address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large.

2) Letters must not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates

3) Letters must ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay

4) Letters should explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric.

5) Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising.

6) The newspaper reserves the right to reject singular letters to the editor that are “signed” or submitted under the names of multiple authors. We will not publish such letters without information provided that allows us to promptly verify that each signatory is aware of and has agreed to the contents of the letter.

7) The newspaper strongly encourages writers to limit letters to about 450 words or less.

8) The newspaper is likely to reject letters that contain questionable content (e.g. unfounded allegations, statements of fact that are suspect, or assaults on a candidate’s character or moral standards). 

9) All letters must be signed and include the address and telephone number of the writer. Electronic letters must include address and telephone number of the sender. Phone numbers are for questions and verification purposes only and will not be published.

10) As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria.

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