WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Complete means name, day and Most newspapers prefer e-mail submissions or faxes of faxes of or submissions e-mail Most newspapers prefer Writing a Letter to the Editor a Letter to the Writing Reference the article in your letter, and include the headline headline and include the Reference the article in your letter, Make your well thought out point in 100–250 words. in 100–250 Make your well thought out point Letters reaction to an are usually a response or a to the editor If you are in a leadership position locally with UMDF or another If you are in a leadership position Check with your newspaper’s on editorial department the word How does this issue affect the community? affect the community? How does this issue Grab the reader’s and editor’s attention with a passionate opening opening a passionate with attention editor’s Grab the reader’s and Support your position with succinct facts. Provide the complete Provide with succinct facts. position your Support Write about your own experience or how the issue affects people your ownWrite about affects experience or how the issue and date in the first or second sentence of your letter. sentence first or second and date in the article that appeared in that specific newspaper. They should be submitted within newspaper. They should be in that specific article that appeared paper. when theseven days from in the appeared article limits. Most are between 100–250 words but guidelines can vary greatly. can vary greatly. words but guidelines limits. Most are between 100–250 they receive. Keep of editing letters Newspapers often take the liberty your letter be cut. that your important points won’t to ensure concise reference for these facts as an addendum. facts as an addendum. these reference for sentence. directly. Explain and why the why YOU care about the issue editor readers and should care. health-related organization, consider signing the letter with that title. Providing signing the letter with that title. organization, consider health-related your title and the name of your workplace can sometimes help or institution to get wish to confirm that you are indeed the Larger papers may a letter printed. signatory. letters to the editor. Check the paper’s Web site or call to confirm the preferred Web site editor. Check the paper’s letters to the method of submission. evening phone numbers, cell phone number, fax evening phone numbers, cell phone number and e-mail address. reach you after 5:00 p.m. Reporters must be able to references. 2. Cite 1. Make it timely. 3. Keep it short. 5. Start strong. 5. Start 4. Make one point. 7. Personalize. 6. Substantiate. 8. Make it local. 9. Use your title. your 9. Use 10. Submit it electronically. 10. 11. Include your complete contact information. complete contact information. Include your 11. Letters to the editor, like the other media outreach tools included in this tool kit, educate educate kit, tool in this included outreach tools the other media editor, like the Letters to and positions officials’ public influence opinion and public on an issue, affect readers to is relevant newspapers that an issue the editorial boards of also alert They decisions. the of letters to Similarly, a campaign it merits coverage. and therefore their readership, from editor (letters sent add energy and can addressing a single issue) multiple sources to A sample letter issues. to different health for increased attention urgency to the call kit. provided in this tool the editor is

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR act your elected officials and tell them hondrial disease research. We can’t afford We can’t hondrial disease research. y help to develop better treatments and y help to develop better treatments and examining mitochondrial disease and disease examining mitochondrial Sample Letter to the Editor Letter to the Sample Make your letter relevant to a recently published article in this newspaper. newspaper. Make your letterarticle in this relevant to a recently published community/area. from the local real people life examples with Include real your key messages. Utilize and emphasize disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and the aging disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, process itself. blindness, deafness, even unexplained strokes and seizures, and eventually death. and eventually and seizures, unexplained strokes even deafness, blindness, disease by the age of 10; age of 10; disease by the mitochondrial disease; diagnose; Parkinson’s disease, in Alzheimer’s implicated Mitochondrial dysfunction has been While symptoms mitochondrial vary greatly, disease can lead to muscle weakness, More than the Unitedone in 4,000 children in States will develop a mitochondrial and 4,000 in the U.S. are Each year between 1,000 born with a type of to this broad range is that majority of these diseases are very difficult The reason for effective treatmenthas no and disease which and no cure; This is a

• • • • • • • • • words) (Approx. 300 [DATE] [NAME OF EDITOR] [NAME OF NEWSPAPER] NEWSPAPER][ADDRESS OF To the Editor: a “[ARTICLE disease article [AUTHOR] called mitochondrial NAME],” In his/her [DATE] we be learned, still more to there is known. While is little “rare disease” about which a great deal about mitochondrial disease. actually know We know that: TIPS

not to. you support increased research funding for mitoc you support increased research diagnostics for mitochondrial disease; it could also help researchers to open a new world of a new open to researchers help could also mitochondrial disease; it diagnostics for treatments for a and the way for developing better diagnostics pave and medical knowledge – ultimately range of other diseases alleviating suffering and transforming medicine as we know it. I urge [NAME OF readers to cont PAPER] and your importance of mitochondrial In fact, the National Institutes of Health recently recognized the an NIH Roadmap for Medical disease for mitochondrial by considering disease research is approved and adequately funded. We must act now to ensure the Roadmap Research. resources to Committing the appropriate not onl mitochondrial dysfunction now could

Sincerely,

[NAME] [AFFILIATION] [DAY, EVENING, AND CELL PHONE NUMBERS] [E-MAIL ADDRESS]