Let your voices be heard
Due to the heavy volume of letters we’ve been receiving over the past few weeks, it’s probably appropriate again to publish our policies for the Island Reporter’s “Letters to the Editor” section.
In my nearly 20 years engaged in the field of journalism, I have always said that the most important pages of a newspapers are not the front cover or the section fronts, but the editorial pages. Here, the readers have their voice in what’s going on, reacting to a story they’ve seen in a previous issue, offering their take on a particular political debate or enlightening their fellow citizens about whatever injustice may be going unnoticed.
Here within the Island Reporter, our letters section is your sounding board for this community.
There are many options for submitting your letters to the editor. You may either:
Send your letter via e-mail to jlysiak@breezenewspapers.com.
Submit your letters through the mail (Island Reporter, 2340 Periwinkle Way, Unit K, Sanibel, FL 33957).
Turn in your letter in person at our office, located along the back section of The Village Shops (next to St. Michael’s & All Angels Church).
The subject matter for your letters are completely of your own choosing. You may speak on any topic which you may feel is of importance to Sanibel, Captiva, Southwest Florida or otherwise. You may criticize where it’s appropriate, or praise whenever it’s warranted. We only ask that you follow a few simple guidelines that will allow for the most valuable use of our limited page space:
All letters submitted for publication should include a name, address and phone number of the writer (Addresses and phone numbers are for confirmation purposes only and will not be printed).
Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words. Longer letters may be cut for space.
Letters may also be edited for spelling and/or clarity.
All letters are due before the end of business – 5 p.m. – every Monday (for that current week’s issue).
Please refrain from making any personal attacks or writing about inappropriate subject matter.
In our effort to allow more voices to be heard, letters may be limited to one per month, per writer.
Letters related to an election will not be printed the week prior to the election. To that end, such letters related to the March 3 City Council election will only run through the Feb. 19 issue.
Of course, if you have any additional questions about submitting your letter to the editor for publication, please do not hesitate to call the Island Reporter (472-1587) during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
That’s it, folks. Now it’s up to you. Let your voices be heard. I’ll be looking forward to reading your letters… and sharing them with our community.
– Jeff Lysiak, Executive Editor