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County Republican Committee |
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WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Take the opportunity to voice your opinion by submitting a letter to the editor. Getting involved in this way allows you to effectively influence public opinion and even show support for leaders and issues. It helps your representatives and lawmakers gauge their constituents' opinions and it's a great way to raise awareness about the issues.
Following are the email links for various local newspapers. (If the email links don't work well for you, the actual email address for each newspaper is listed as well. You can copy and paste that into your email program.) Below the links are some suggestions/guidelines to use when writing. Thanks to Jim Miller for that.
Franklin News Post
fnpevents@thefranklinnewspost.com
Bedford Bulletin
news@bedfordbulletin.com
The Roanoke Times
letters@roanoke.com
The News and Advance
letters@newsadvance.com
Smith Mountain Eagle
rlyon@smithmountaineagle.com
Danville Register and Bee
(This is their online form. Click on the link and scroll down to find a 'letter to the editor' field where you can type your letter which will go directly to the editor at the Danville Register and Bee).
Some helpful hints for writing letters to an editor:
1. Most newspapers impose a word limit, usually 200 words. If you use Word to draft the letters, there is a "Word Count" option under the "Tools" icon on the toolbar. Shorter, to the point letters are most effective.
2. Don't include personal attacks in a letter (i.e. don't use names like "weasel", "communist", "Nazi", "stupid", "un-American", "liar", etc.)
3. Be factual! Don't include statements or accusations that may not be accurate.
4. If you mention any of our Republican leaders, letters should always include positive comments about them, their record, and/or endorsements. We have some great leaders, and we should be proud to extol their excellent credentials.
5. If you are writing about the opposition, focus on the destructive aspects of a person's record as a politician - his votes on the House or Senate floor, his press releases, his public statements, etc.
6. Many newspapers have limits on how frequently they will accept letters from the same individual; some have 30 day limits, some have 60 day limits. Check what limits the newspaper you are writing may have. Some papers have rules saying they won't publish a letter that has been published elsewhere. You may want to check this out if you are "blasting" the same letter to multiple newspapers.
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Officers
Frank R. Chrzanowski - Chairman
Melvin Adams - 1st Vice Chair
Peter S. Ciccarello - 2nd Vice Chair
Joanne Ballard - Secretary
Margaret Gray - Treasurer
GOP LINKS
