Opinion Submission Guidelines
The different parts of the Opinion page
We depend on letter writers to keep the community conversations going on the editorial page. It's a dialogue about topics near and dear to our hearts. The opinion page is one of the most popular pages in a daily newspaper, and we want to keep it that way.We do have criteria, and it's very similar to what other newspapers follow.
There are several components to the editorial page:
- Our View — editorials written by the Idaho Press-Tribune that represent the views of the paper and members of the editorial board.
- Your Views — Signed letters under 300 words. Longer letters between 300 and 500 words. Longer items are edited for space. Click here for policy.
- Cheers and Jeers — Signed and unsigned comments of praise and criticism. Click here for policy.
- Syndicated and regular columnists — These columns come from a wide range of national and state writers. They are printed when we have abundant space and your locally generated letters can be published in a timely fashion. Click here for policy.
- Editorial cartoons — A visual viewpoint, most often presented by national cartoonists on major or political issues.
- Here's what you said — Quick comments from readers on issues when opinions are solicited with major news stories.
- Two daily strips — Doonsebury and Mallard Fillmore present different views in another visual format. These are published Monday through Saturday.
- Straight Talk — Straight Talk is a regular column written by various Press-Tribune managers discussing the internal decisions of the newspaper. If you have questions or comments you'd like addressed, please send them to: IPT Straight Talk, P.O. Box 9399, Nampa, ID 83652 or op-ed@idahopress.com
These short comments are published on Mondays and don't always include names. Here are some of the guidelines we use to determine what will and won't be printed in our Cheers and Jeers column:
- Political jabs, politics and political hot buttons will be rejected. We believe those issues should be addressed in letters to the editor that include names and addresses. It also gives us the opportunity to verify and seek additional information if necessary.
- Criticisms of a named business, agency, person or employee won't be published. We do not verify these incidents and believe they should be addressed between a customer and business. In some cases where we think it will teach a lesson, we will eliminate the identifying verbiage.
- Jeers will be published about the everyday pet peeves and nuisances that drive us all crazy. You know the people who steal at garage sales, drivers who ignore safety and traffic laws, people who park in the handicap spot and don't need to, people who use the speedy check-out lane with a full grocery cart, people who don't have answering machines and then complain that you didn't return their call ... the list is endless.
- Cheers for extraordinary customer service efforts. We expect all businesses to give good customer service and do a good job. But when an employee or business goes above and beyond, then it's worth noting. But the notes should be short and will not be accepted if it sounds like it is free advertising.
- Cheers about groups and people who organize and sponsor events will be published. But lists of donors will not be printed.
- A short cheer for something that has become a big news event will be welcomed. And anytime we can praise and honor folks who go above and beyond to perform random acts of kindness and demonstrate that there are many good people in the Treasure Valley, we'll be happy to publish those in our Monday column.
- Rude, mean spirited jeers that ridicule will not be published.
- In cases where a jeer is submitted anonymously, we are not able to let the writer know that the item is being rejected and why. In cases where a cheer or a jeer touches on a hot-button issue, we will let the writer know that it should be submitted as a letter to the editor if the writer and contact information is provided.
E-mail is best. Send it to op-ed@idahopress.com. You should get a response that says 'I got your letter' within 48 hours of sending your letter by e-mail. Be a little more patient on holidays and weekends. You may also mail letters to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 9399, Nampa, ID 83652 or drop them off at the office at 1618 N. Midland Blvd., Nampa, or fax them to 467-9562.
What happens when you write a letter to the editor and submit it to the paper?
It's given a quick review for the criteria we require for verification:
- Phone number
- E-mail address [if available]
- Full address
- Full name
Do you give priority to local writers?
Yes, local, as in Canyon County and western Ada County. Those writers get first priority. Boise writers and state officials are given some priority. Out-of-state (except in rare situations) are usually rejected.
Sometimes I get a letter from a friend, or I see something in another newspaper that really states my view perfectly. Will you print those letters?
Occasionally we'll publish something like you mention, but we need to know the author, the purpose of the letter and the context it was written. The letters that get circulated electronically or passed along to generate support or opposition will not be published. You do have the right to submit your own letter. But someone else's work cannot be submitted as a letter. It is a form of plagiarism. Sometimes, people submit something they collect off the Internet and submit it with their own 'I agree with this' and sign their name. This happens too often, and we watch for these letters and reject them. We want original writings and opinions from local readers. To quote with proper attribution within your letter is acceptable. But an entire letter of quotes won't be accepted. Form letters generated from a Web site will be rejected, too.
How often will you publish letters or guest opinions from me?
Once every 30 days. Occasionally we waive that 30-day limit, especially during election season, when we give you an opportunity to send a non-political letter and one political letter.
Do the short comments I give when you ask readers for a quick opinion count as a letter to the editor?
No. This is a new avenue to get more opinions in the paper. It gives readers a chance to give an instant view. We're limiting these responses to 200 words, and in cases where there is a lot of repetition or it's too late for the issue, we may not publish every opinion in the paper. These are not considered letters or guest opinions.
What if my submission meets all the criteria?
Your letter is reviewed for facts, content and potential liability. We don't care whether we agree with the opinion. If there aren't any questions or issues, the letter moves on to be processed and it's put in line for publication. Length and the timeliness of the topic help determine when your letter runs. We try to mix up the topics, too. And if we have separate letters with opposite views, we like to publish them together — if we get them together. Sometimes we solicit the other side of an issue so they can be published at the same time.
What counts as a word in a letter or guest opinion?
All words — if, and, a, an, the — in the body of the letter. Headlines, names and towns do not count.
What if my letter is too long?
We review it for content and determine whether it would be a good guest opinion or if it should be trimmed down to fit our required word length — 300 words (or slightly longer when we don't have an overload of letters.) If we can trim without changing your message or dropping a major point, we do it without contacting you.If it requires 'major surgery,' we try to contact you.
What kind of content is not published?
Letters that have the following content are usually edited or rejected:
- Opinions that denounce a race or religion.
- Opinions that put a race or religion on a pedestal higher than another.
- Opinions that support violence or breaking the law.
- Facts that we can't prove.
- Hearsay, as in comments about what other people say or believe, if it has not been printed in the paper previously.
- If it repeats everything that has been said and the issue has been hashed over and over with no change in the news.
- Form letters and letters generated from a Web site where you just have to add your name and contact information.
In the cases of the average writer, letters are signed with a name and hometown. In cases where the writer is known for a particular reason or has some expertise that helps lend credibility to an opinion, that information is provided also. In cases where the writer represents a group, we try to be very specific about that. In cases where the writer is an elected official, for instance, but he or she is not speaking on behalf of its agency, it should be noted as a secondary item.
Why do you put editor's notes at the end of some of the letters that you publish?
Sometimes a note is written to clarify something stated by the writer. Sometimes someone presents a reasonable viewpoint but may not know the facts. If someone new to the issue reads the letter, a misleading impression can be left.
What happens if you question the facts or statements presented in a letter?
Generally, we check with the reporter who covers that issue or we check with the sources and do a quick fact check. Sometimes we're able to check our own files for the facts. If your letter declares fact that we can't prove, we reject the letter or modify the sentence to qualify what we believe is a 'stated fact.'
What happens when you reject a letter based on content?
We try to contact you and explain the situation.What happens when you print a letter that doesn't seem to fit the 'allowed criteria' that you list here? Every time we decide to publish a letter, it's a judgment call. It's discussed with other editors, but the managing editor makes the final decision.
How do you select the weekly Silver Quill winner?
There is no magic formula, however, we don't have to agree with the topic to be selected. We evaluate the topic on whether it took 'guts' to address a particular matter; how well it's stated; whether it's clever; or how many other 'good' letters we received that week. The few weeks prior to an election usually means we don't recognize a Silver Quill winner because we don't want to give the appearance that we're endorsing the writer's candidate. Sometimes we get nominations from readers, or the editorial board suggests a winner.
Do community editorial board members review letters to be published?
No. The community editorial board members participate in many of the discussions for 'Our views,' but they don't select cartoons, other columns or letters. Community members are also allowed to write letters.
Will you publish a letter without a name?
No.
New Online Forum Rules:
The Idaho Press-Tribune welcomes comments on its Web-based sites. However, we have a posting policy. If you believe there are posts that violate these rules, please send an e-mail to webtech@idahopress.com. The Idaho Press-Tribune news staff will determine if the content is removed. The user who posted the offending material will be warned.
Three strikes and you're out for good:
Users who violate the rules will not be tolerated. If you ignore the rules after you've been warned three times, you will be banned from posting.
Objectionable content will not be allowed:
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Stay on topic.
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The Idaho Press-Tribune does not edit posts. If a post violates the content rules, it will be removed. It will not be edited or otherwise 'cleaned up.'
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