Q&A on letters to the editor

Press subscriber and letter writer George Silva isn't bashful about sharing his opinions with thousands of readers. Silva recently asked a question, which led to a bunch more.

"How about an editorial from you as editor, talk about how you do it, which letters will you publish?" George wrote. "There are many questions your readers would be interested in."

Here are George's questions, and answers as short and direct as we can make them.

1. How many letters do you get each day? It varies from a few to a dozen or more.

2. Do you read them personally or do you have staff do that? I read every one and edit them for grammar and syntax. I write the headlines. I also occasionally edit some content — name-calling, making potentially libelous claims, racist remarks, that sort of thing.

3. Is it your opinion only or do you consult with staff on which letters you publish? It's my job but I sometimes ask Publisher Clint Schroeder for his perspective.

4. How do you decide how many to print? We publish letters to the editor (LTE) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Available space in the newspaper is the biggest determinant in how many run. We'll devote more space for strong reader response to urgent issues, especially if they're local.

5. Assuming you get hundreds each day, why not print more everyday? We don't get hundreds a day, and frankly, while the people who like the Opinions page REALLY like it, not everyone does. We get complaints sometimes when we run loads of LTE at the expense of publishing actual news.

6. It must be hard to not let your personal bias enter into the picture. How are you able to do it? When I think my biases might be clouding the picture, that's when I lean on Clint Schroeder. But the goal is to publish as many letters as possible from as wide a spectrum of viewpoints as possible — particularly if they're critical of The Press or take a position counter to something we've editorialized on.

7. Do you print 4 pro Trump and 4 anti Trump, or any other subject? Do you go for a balance? Some days it seems like it is only one way, positive or negative. We can only publish the letters we receive — and then, only as many as space allows. Sometimes it's a great variety. Sometimes it's a bunch of people singing from the same sheet of music.

8. What are some deciding factors that go into your decision? One is how often someone is writing. We want as many different viewpoints expressed as possible, and some people submit an LTE a day. Ideal is one letter a month from any writer. Another factor is how timely or interesting the letter is. We publish as many as we can, but some that are not particularly timely or original will go to the back of the line.

9. There must be some rules that say we will definitely not publish this letter? If it's more than 275 words, it won't run. If it's racist, promotes violence or is outright vulgar, it won't run. If we've published a lot from that writer in a fairly short time, it probably won't run. The goal though is to publish as many as possible.

10. How long do you keep a letter? Let's say you get 10 good letters, but only have room for 8, do you save the other 2 for another day? Sometimes letters are held for a week or more — again, number of letters received and available space in the newspaper is the key determinant. We do try to publish as many as possible as soon after we receive them as we can.

Questions? Comments? Email Mike Patrick, mpatrick@cdapress.com.