Letters to the Editor
How to express your opinion:
1. Select the publication: local newspaper, even the freebie ones, will take LTEs. Some magazines,too.
2. Check the guidelines for length, what info you need to provide, how to submit (whether copying and pasting into an onsite form or sending via email).
3. Double check your word count before submitting.
4. Look over letters published in that publication for style.
5. Refer to the article you are replying to at the top. For example, type Re: (title) and date. And then start writing your letter. That way, the word count won't be decreased by the article title you're referencing.
6. Get to the point. Don't defame anyone. Stick to facts.
7. You can bring up why this topic affects you.
8. Have someone look it over for typos, etc.
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Here's some info from Food & Water Watch on writing and submitting a LTE specifically for SB-1486:
Purpose: Show overwhelming Californian support for Senator Henry Stern’s Aliso Moratorium and Shut Down Bill. Tell Governor Newsom and the California legislature that we want to shut the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility down immediately and permanently.
Background: On Thursday, November 4, the California Public Utilities Commission voted in favor of a fossil fuel industry backed proposal to increase gas storage capacity at Aliso Canyon by nearly 20% from 34 Bcf to 41 Bcf. With Food & Water Watch and local community support, State Senator Henry Stern (D-37) has introduced SB1486, the Clean Energy Jobs, Coordination, and Community Safety Through Aliso Canyon Closure Act of 2022 that outlines a clear pathway to shut Aliso Canyon down permanently by 2027.
Tips:
Check out your local paper’s requirements for LTE submissions before writing. These are usually pretty easy to find under the “Opinion” section of the paper’s website.
Don’t be afraid to use first person, particularly if you have a unique perspective. Are you a Porter Ranch or San Fernando Valley resident? Say so!
Stick to one point and back it up with facts.
Make sure you have a beginning, middle and an end to your narrative— however short it is! Here’s a template to get you going:
Beginning: Reference the article you’re writing about and state your premise.
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Example: As Ian James points out in his article, Urgent action needed to address climate change’s catastrophic threats, U.N. warns, we know there is no time left for half measures when it comes to slashing methane emissions. That’s why the California legislature must pass Senator Henry Stern’s SB1486 to permanently close SoCalGas’ Aliso Canyon facility.
Middle: Back up your premise with facts. Here are just a few!
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Multiple legislators and governing bodies support Aliso’s closure, including:
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Governor Gavin Newsom (Newsom himself wrote a letter to the CPUC in 2019 stating how concerned he was that the commission’s current plan wasn’t working towards Aliso Canyon’s closure fast enough.)
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Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, Congressmember Brad Sherman
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LA Unified School District
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CPUC is letting SoCalGas off the hook and delaying the closure
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Despite Newsom’s directive to the CPUC to expedite planning to close Aliso Canyon, the CPUC has let SoCalGas ramp up use of the field
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In November 2021, CPUC took a step in the wrong direction and authorized a storage limit increase at Aliso Canyon, increasing the size of the field.
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Methane (the main ingredient in natural gas) is a toxic greenhouse gas.
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The U.N. has pointed to eliminating methane emissions as key to avoiding the worst impacts of global warming.
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People are still sick six years after the blowout.
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San Fernando Valley residents still suffer ailments ranging from asthma to cancer.
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We don’t need Aliso Canyon for energy reliability.
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In order to have a truly resilient energy grid, we need to move towards distributing and reducing our energy use through initiatives like neighborhood solar and energy efficiency.
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The United Nations’ latest report clearly links disasters like California’s ongoing drought and water shortages to climate change.
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We are out of time. We must initiate an equitable transition away from fossil fuels right now.
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SoCalGas cannot be trusted.
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The investor-owned utility is facing millions of dollars in fines for misusing ratepayer funding to oppose climate policy that threatened their business model.
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SoCalGas raised their rates by more than 50 percent in the middle of the pandemic even as their revenue rose. That’s not inflation. That’s price gouging.
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End: Reiterate your call to action.
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Write to your legislator to support Sen. Stern’s SB1486 today to close SoCalGas’ Aliso Canyon storage facility permanently.
If you have any questions or would like to talk an idea through, please reach out to media relations officer Jessica Gable at jgable@fwwatch.org!
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For LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/about/la-letter-to-the-editor-htmlstory.html
Please fill in your full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address below. Submissions that do not include this information cannot be published. This information is seen only by the letters editors and is not used for any commercial purpose.
We generally do not publish more than one letter from a single person within any 60-day period. Letters become the property of The Times and may be republished in any format. They typically run 150 words or less and may be edited. You will be contacted if your letter is a candidate for publication.
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For the Daily News:
We welcome letters to the editor on all issues of public concern. All submissions are subject to editing and condensation, and they can be published only with the writer’s true name. Letters must include the writer’s home community and a daytime phone number for confirmation. Please limit submissions to 150 words and send via email (without attachments) to dnforum@dailynews.com.
For LA Weekly: form for LTE: http://www.laweekly.com/about/contact?category=letters
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For San Francisco Chronicle: form for LTE: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/letters-editor/item/How-to-submit-Letters-56188.php. Please limit your letters to about 200 or fewer words.
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For the Sacramento Bee: form for LTE: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/submit-letter/
There is a 150-word limit for letters to the editor.
For examples of LTEs about Aliso that were published, please see: https://wearealiso.wixsite.com/healthoverwealth/our-programs
Longer opinion pieces
Daily News:
Los Angeles News Group newspapers consider guest commentary submissions of no more than 600 words.
We look for topical commentary on public policy and social issues that are of general interest to our print and digital readership. We give preference to local, regional and California topics and writers.
The commentary must be the author’s original work. We do not pay for guest commentaries.
Submissions are subject to editing, though we make every effort to retain the author’s voice and point of view. Email your submission to opinion@langnews.com with the subject line “Op-ed submission.” Include a sentence or two at the end including your position, city or community of residence, and any background relevant to your expertise in the topic.
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Valley Voice:
Note: Please send your ads/articles/etc. yourvalleyvoice@hotmail.com
The Valley Voice welcomes unsolicited manuscripts. Submissions must include a name, mailing address and phone number. All e-mail submissions should be sent in the body of the message. The Valley Voice rarely prints articles of more than 500 words.
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New York Times:
The New York Times accepts op-ed articles, not previously published in print or online, on any topic, with typical length from 400 to 1,200 words. They want exclusive submissions, but if you do not hear back from them within three business days, you can assume you can submit your article elsewhere. Send your submission via email to opinion@nytimes.com.
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Washington Post Submit opinion piece of 750 words or less using op ed form at www.washingtonpost.com/opinions
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For examples of longer pieces published about Aliso, please see: https://wearealiso.wixsite.com/healthoverwealth/longer-pieces