Keepin' It Real
Captain's Quarters has a post on a recent editorial in the St. Paul Pioneer Press asking readers to cease and desist with the practice of submitting canned letters to the editor, often copied from web sites or spoon fed by political campaigns. Captain Ed is quite put off by this canned letter trend as am I.
Over the years I have written a number of letters to the editor, to the Minneapolis Star Tribune as well as to local community papers. My publishing hit rate at the Strib is around 10% while it's much better with the community rags. All of the letters that I have submitted have been original content and I could not imagine attaching my name to a boiler plate rendition loaded with talking points.
Unfortunately, Ed is quite correct when he says that this practice is becoming more and more prevalent. It's especially noticeable in the local community papers which are full of such pap, particularly in the run up to an election.
And it's not limited to one side of the political fence. I've received solicitations to submit such canned letters from local political campaigns as well as the state party apparatus that I am affiliated with. Of course I have rebuffed this suggestions with extreme prejudice. I have no problem if you ask me to write a letter on a particular issue or in support of a candidate. But I'm doing it with my own words in the style and tone of my choosing. Anything else would be intellectually dishonest.
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