CRPA March-April

EW
How To Get Your
Letters To The
SHOOTERS
by Steve Oetzell
Editor PUBLISHED
One trait that is common
to all individuals,
yet defines our
unique nature, is our propensity
for opinion. for the
most part, we enjoy sharing
our opinions. and nothing is
more gratifying than sharing
them with a large audience.
promoting pro-gun beliefs,
in print and in cyberspace,
is essential to winning the
hearts and minds of those
who have not yet developed
opinions on guns or gun
control. if properly submitted
to the newspaper, your
pro-gun message will be
read by millions of people.
and, if properly written,
your pro-gun message could
influence thousands.
The simplest way to
voice your opinion in a
newspaper is to send a letter
to the editor. The opinion
page in every newspaper has
instructions regarding letter
submission. Follow these instructions
and honor the word
count limit. Cite the name,
the author, and the publication
date of the piece you
are commenting on. If you
disagree with what someone
has written, state your case
convincingly but avoid criticism.
If you make general
statements, back them up
with statistics, poll results
or studies. Include your
name, address, telephone
number and email addresses
so the editors can verify
you as a legitimate source
and contact you should they
decide to publish your letter.
A good letter follows
a format. Look at the published
letters in the opinion
section. Most letters will
follow a three paragraph
structure. The first paragraph
should cite the piece
that you are commenting
on and present your opinion.
The second paragraph
should state your case.
The third paragraph should
close the letter and contains,
what i call, the “zinger”.
The “zinger” is usually
the last sentence that may
take the form of a clever
observation, a sagely prediction,
a thought provoking
question or a relevant
“if-then” scenario.
Generally speaking,
your letter will stand a far
greater chance of being
published if you are representing
the views of an organization
or if your name is
followed by an official title.
When speaking on behalf
of an organization, be sure
that your letter is approved
by that organization prior to
submitting it to the newspaper.
Although having a little
“street cred” helps, many
newspapers will print the
opinions of all readers-no
matter how humble.
Don’t presume that the
newspaper will ignore your
letter because you oppose
their agenda. If a newspaper
promotes an anti-gun agenda
they will still print pro-gun
letters. The ratio, however,
of anti-gun letters to progun
letters will usually run
two-to-one.
Don’t get insulted if
the editor modifies your letter.
Remember that editing
is his/her job. More times
than not, your letter will read
and sound better after the
editor makes minor changes.
Editors are not trying to
change your message but,
rather, present your message
in the clearest form possible.
Lastly, if your letter is
rejected don’t be discouraged.
Be persistent and keep
writing letters. Sooner or
later your letter will be published.
Seeing your name
in print and knowing that
millions of people are reading
your words will be your
reward for not giving up.
Also, remember that your
words will not only be immortalized
on paper but in
cyberspace as well.
As pro-gun minded citizens
we have to be more
vocal about our opinions. We
must let the press know how
we feel about gun related issues.
More importantly, we
must persuade the undecided
to consider our opinions
instead of blindly listening
to the propaganda of the anti-gun
media.
26
MARCH / APRIL