From the editor: The best letters are written by real people

BY David Kennard
News Journal

A few weeks ago, the News Journal received a letter to the editor written by a woman who claimed to live in Mansfield.

It was a nice letter heaping praise upon President Obama. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Like we do with all letters, we called the woman to confirm that she was the author. Everything checked out and the letter ran on the opinion page, where all letters run.

A few days later we saw the same letter begin to pop up in papers around the country, all written by the same woman. Problem was, she claimed to have a home in each area where her letter ran.

We were duped.

Besides providing news coverage of the local community, newspapers have historically been a place to foster conversation and develop public opinion and debate.

We take that role seriously, and letters to the editor are welcome in the News Journal.

We enjoy giving a voice to our readers. And we run nearly all the letters we receive.

Those that don’t make print are rejected for any number of reasons — like if the letter is from an anonymous writer.

When a letter to the editor arrives in the newsroom, my staff immediately logs it in, places it in a folder and carries the folder to my desk for review.

I spend a few minutes each day reading letters that have come in and giving them a thumbs up for publication.

The letter then goes to a clerk who checks it for egregious errors and other criteria, such as length.

Letters longer than 350 words are always sent back to the author for editing. To give you an idea of length, this column is about 415 words.

Regarding the fake letter to the editor, we eventually found out the woman writer was really a 51-year-old man from Frazier Park, Calif. What is the saying? “Fool me once?”

While we love to get letters, we also love to know who is sending them to us. My thinking is that if you really value your opinion, you ought to let others know who you are.

David Kennard is the managing editor of the Mansfield News Journal. You can contact him at 419-521-7204.