We-Ha.com expanded its ‘Letters to the Editor’ policy in late August.
By Ronni Newton
We-Ha.com receives letters to the editor throughout the year, but during election season there is an increased volume of submitted letters. We encourage conversation and a variety of perspectives, and with election season in full swing, we want to be sure our readers are aware that we recently updated our letters policy.
We previously would not publish letters from political candidates within 60 days of an election, but we will now consider letters from candidates for publication within 14 days of an election. There had not previously been a cut-off point for letters from individuals who are not candidates, other than that they must be submitted by the Sunday prior to Election Day in order to be considered for the our newsletter that is published on the Monday prior to Election Day. That has not changed.
Our current policy has been updated so that comments may no longer be posted on any letters to the editor.
We will endeavor to publish letters to the editor within 48 hours of receipt, but please note that the maximum number of items that can appear in any We-Ha.com newsletter is 12, and news articles and time-sensitive press releases from local nonprofits will continue to receive priority for those newsletter spaces.
Not every submitted letter will be published. Anonymous letters will not be published, and we will not publish letters that appear to be form letters, or multiple letters that contain virtually the same language.
Letters that are harassing, or contain personal attacks or profanity of any type, will not be published. If a statistic is cited as fact the author of the letter will be asked to provide the source to verify that information. Letters that just list candidates the author is supporting, with no information about “why” those individuals should be supported, will not be published.
All letters must include the town of residence of the author, and any relevant representation, for example if the author is an officer of a political organization or a lobbyist. Phone numbers will not be published, but are required in case verification is needed.
All letters must be submitted via email to [email protected]. Any questions about the letters policy can also be sent to that email address.
The current letters to the editor policy, which is posted above all published letters is as follows:
We-Ha.com welcomes Letters to the Editor from the public, including endorsements. Letters submitted by political candidates will be considered for publication up to 14 days prior to an election and most will be published within 48 hours of receipt. Letters that contain personal attacks or include profanity of any type will not be published. Rebuttals to letters should be submitted as a separate document, and commenting on letters will no longer be permitted. Please provide your full name and town, as well as your phone number at the end of the letter. Phone numbers will not be published but are required in case verification is needed. Please submit letters to [email protected].
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No comments, seems like you were stifling dissent
“Rebuttals to letters should be submitted as a separate document.” We don’t want people just commenting on letters but rather submitting another letter instead because that way it will be more visible and the intent is the complete opposite of stifling dissent.