The Declaration of Correspondence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person, or, for the less confident, one people, to write a letter to the editor of the Bangor Daily News, and to assume among the powers of the press, the publication of this letter or, if unable to restrain the torrent of verbiage, an Op-ed piece, a decent respect for readers requires us to explain how to improve the chances of getting their words on the page.

This explanation arises after a busy election season in which countless letters, though admirable in many respects, failed to become part of the Letters to the Editor section, causing disappointment in the writer and instilling in us a sense of having failed to adequately explain the guidelines of letterdom.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all writers are created equal, but all letters are not; the blessing of printer’s ink falls upon those who can keep them under 300 words. Writers who believe they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights and that among these are a prohibition against us editing a single syllable of their letters, will find disappointment where their letters should appear. Prudence, indeed, would prevent us from editing any letter willy-nilly, but when a long train of abuses, name-calling and conspiracy theories are presented as fact when they are fact only on certain talk radio programs and/or one-issue Web sites, then accordingly all experience hath shewn that the letter must be edited if not killed outright.

So too, those who end their missives with, “I dare you to print this letter” shall find disappointment.

The recent history of letters and commentary in the last election of the president of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and assaults upon the tired eyes of the editorial page, eyes that now tear easily at the sight of one more letter concluding the presence of voter fraud in Florida or the absence of valor in Vietnam. Opinions may spring from your pen, yet facts should rise from verifiable sources.

The writer shall not call George Bush stupid, nor any similar abomination; the writer shall not accuse John Kerry of being a traitor. All persons, including the very parents of those submitting letters, have lied on occasion, making them, perforce, liars. The writer shall not call attention to this universal failing by offering for publication a select list of liars inhabiting one of the political parties.

For other reasons that imperil a letter, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The writer who quotes at length his perceived enemies will not put words in the latter’s mouth on these pages.

The writer who attempts on these pages to reprint the Bible/Torah/Koran on these pages, though his Eternal Soul be saved, shall find neither success nor satisfaction here.

The writer who visits the verdant gardens of political Web sites and plucks sentences and paragraphs that are not his own but are offered to this paper as his own, should he be discovered, shall not have his letter printed. Conversely, that writer who sends his work to all places around the globe while also sending it to these offices shall look elsewhere for publication.

The writer who accuses us of censorship should we suggest removing certain libelous statements shall not have his letter printed no matter the vituperations flung in our direction.

The writer who points out, politely, that we have unfairly censored or misrendered a letter on these pages shall conclude it was the editor’s mere incompetence and not a conspiracy against his beliefs and shall receive both an apology and a correction.

The writer who says his city manager/school board/member of Congress is just like Hitler will search the editorial pages in vain for his letter. Anyway, they are not.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness – yours, ours, generally – dictate that readers know not only what excludes a letter from these pages but what assures its printing. A letter that is concise, reflecting on an issue that has had coverage in the newspaper and providing an opinion that has not already been printed repeatedly, stands an excellent chance. Tone matters. It should be topical, sent within a day or two of the article or event to which it refers. It should state its mission clearly, get to its point quickly and keep the matter in perspective. Brevity has been mentioned before; brevity triumphs where verbosity falters.

We, therefore, urge writers to unfetter themselves from the chains of name-calling, sentence-borrowing and Hitler-likening, even as most letters already are excellent in these respects and others. We appeal to the good readers of this newspaper to judge these policies for the rectitude of their intentions, and to support this Declaration of letter-writing principles to the betterment of our mutual satisfaction and the joy of readers everywhere. Keeping those letters short helps too.

Todd Benoit is the editorial page editor of the Bangor Daily News.