Letters to the Editor

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin encourages the submission of letters to the editor to local newspapers.  These letters are vital to our efforts to get the Democratic message out this fall.  Since we need to get that message out to every corner of the state, we need your help to do it!

Here are some tips on writing letters to the editor:

• Time your letter appropriately.  Try to write about issues that are relevant to the news of the day, or issues that are getting a lot of press at the time.
• State the point of your letter in the first sentence, and spend the rest of the letter backing up your statement.  Reiterate your original point at the end.
• Use data whenever available.  One key statistic to back up your statement can add much more weight to your argument than without it.
• Keep it short - 250 words maximum, or below the limit stated by the publication.
• Stay on topic.  Avoid extraneous information that does not back up your original point.
• Write concisely.  Try to avoid overly long sentences.
• Keep the tone light.  Use humor to help get your point across, and no matter how angry you may be about a particular issue, try not to let that anger come across in your letter.
• Use a personal voice.  It's a letter, so it doesn't need to be written as you would an article.
• If you are writing to support a candidate, make sure you emphasize the need to elect or reelect that person.  Include an election date.
• Don't get bogged down in rebuttals of previous arguments.  If you are responding to another letter, try to respond to their general argument, rather than breaking it down point-by-point.
• Unless it is a statewide publication, only write letters to your local paper.  It's much more likely to get published this way.

Papers with online LTE submission:

Appleton Post-Crescent:
http://www.postcrescent.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Beloit Daily News:
http://www.beloitdailynews.com/forms/letters.php

Capital Times:
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letter/letter_form.php

Dubuque Herald-Telegraph:
http://www.thonline.com/letters.cfm

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram:
http://www.cvol.net/contacteditor.htm#editorform

Fond du Lac Reporter:
http://fdlreporter.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Green Bay Press-Gazette:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Hudson Star Observer:
http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/opinion/?page=letters_form

Janesville Gazette:
http://gazetteextra.com/contactus/lettertoeditor.asp

La Crosse Tribune:
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/tools/submit.php

Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
http://www.htrnews.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Marshfield News-Herald:
http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
http://www2.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp

Oshkosh Northwestern:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

New Richmond News:
http://www.newrichmond-news.com/opinion/?page=letters_form

Pierce County Herald:
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/opinion/?page=letters_form

River Falls Journal:
http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/opinion/?page=letters_form

Sheboygan Press:
http://www.sheboygan-press.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Stevens Points Journal:
http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Superior Daily Telegram:
http://www.cvol.net/contacteditor.htm#editorform

Wausau Daily Herald:
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune:
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/contact/forms/editor_letter.shtml

To submit letters to other papers, check out these websites for submission information:

Antigo Daily Journal:
http://www.antigodailyjournal.com

Ashland Daily Press:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/dailypress

Baraboo News Republic:
http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr

Beaver Dam Daily Citizen:
http://www.wiscnews.com/bdc

The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls):
http://www.chippewa.com

Daily Jefferson County Union (Ft. Atkinson): 
http://www.dailyunion.com

The Daily Reporter (Milwaukee):
http://www.dailyreporter.com

Kenosha News:
http://www.kenoshanews.com

Marinette Eagle Herald:
http://www.eagleherald.com

Monroe Times:
http://www.themonroetimes.com

Portage Daily Register:
http://www.wiscnews.com/pdr

Racine Journal Times:
http://www.journaltimes.com

Shawano Leader:
http://www.shawanoleader.com

Watertown Daily Times:
http://www.wdtimes.com

Waukesha Freeman:
http://www.freemanol.com

West Bend Daily News:
http://www.dailynewsol.com

Wisconsin State Journal (Madison):
http://www.madison.com/wsj