The Advance Is About Engagement ... Here's How You Can Take Part
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Email Martin
Reporting is the backbone of every great news organization. The editorial page is the newsroom’s heartbeat.
It’s why the Advance is committed to delivering top-tier analysis and opinion writing by our team, and to create a platform that invites and publishes people with important things to say about the issues affecting us.
However, we are also in an era when writing is losing traction, and people are increasingly at a loss for what to say — even when they have ideas the community would benefit from.
Today, at the request of several readers as well as business and nonprofit leaders, the Advance is launching a new series about how to write for us.
In the coming weeks, we will explore letters to the editor, opinion writing, and pitching news stories that people would like to see written or would like to write themselves.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor are enormously popular not only with our readers, but with readers across the country. Why?
Because letter writers are the people who must deal with the effects of the news stories that are written about in daily news coverage.
Understanding that helps explain the four traits that make a great letter to the editor.
Personal - Editors and readers want to hear how citizens are affected by what’s happening in our world. Making your letter personal by focusing on your experience will speak to politicians and other leaders about the impact of their decisions. Consider the first line of this letter to the New York Times about Arlie Russell Hochschild’s columns on conservatives in Kentucky who are sticking by Donald Trump. “I was born in Kentucky and spent 30 of my 57 years at various levels of poverty there before leaving for California.” As the other letters about this column were from a University of Chicago professor, a former producer for FOX News and NBC News, and a writer mired in numbers, which would you most likely read? The one by the person who has first-hand experience of the topic. When writing a leader, stress your connection to the topic, and how it’s affecting you. By the way, how did the Kentuckian’s letter highlighted above end? Like this: “What’s the difference between those Kentuckians and this native Kentuckian? It’s simply that I’m educated. I’ve allowed, and continue to allow, my experiences — and facts — to shape my opinions.”
Humor is a powerful tool - When writing a letter, don’t underestimate the power of humor. Not only will your letter be interesting, the odds that people remember your message rises markedly. Consider this ditty from a British publication. “I think it is just terrible and disgusting how everyone is treating Lance Armstrong, especially after what he achieved by winning seven Tour de France races while competing on drugs. When I was on drugs, I couldn’t even find my bike.” Not much more to say, but try and think of Lance Armstrong again without thinking of that joke.
Less is more - Journalists learn early that writing a long essay is relatively easy. Writing something to fit a 4- or 5-inch column takes real talent. Every. Word. Matters. Especially when you don’t have many to work with. The Advance prefers letters in the 300-word range. When words are carefully chosen, one can say a lot. After all, the best-known speech in American history (arguably), the Gettysburg Address, weighs in at just 272 words. Don’t view word limits as hurting your argument, accept it as a challenge to say more with less. The impact of your work, most often, is magnified when you write tight.
Spark discussion - The best letters leave readers with something to think about. Consider this letter from a person responding to another by a gun owner. “Unlike Mr. Kunkle, I’m glad I don’t have a gun and am glad I never needed one. What I do have is the best security system in Arlington. When I purchased my new townhouse 43 years ago, I learned that most break-ins and burglaries occur within the first year of occupancy. I took a white index card and taped it at eye level to my front and rear doors. With a Sharpie in hand, I neatly wrote, ‘Workmen: Before doing the required work, please check with me to make sure my snakes are secured in their cages.’” He goes on to report about the onslaught of letters he received from neighbors about the kinds of snakes he encountered. The point of a well-crafted letter to the editor isn’t to end discussion, it’s to spark it.
Updated July 1, 2025 at 10:39 a.m.
Yes, letters are the shortest pieces that media companies run. Yes, letters don’t allow writers to say everything they want to say. Yes, letters come from everyday people, not professional writers.
That’s what makes letters so powerful, and so popular.
We look forward to your contributions.
Send your letters to Martin Davis, Editor-in-Chief (mdavis@fxbgadvance.com)
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