Fwd: Are LETTERS TO THE EDITOR " a thing of the past " >

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ron Ruggieri <radicalron72647@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2024 at 13:34
Subject: Are LETTERS TO THE EDITOR " a thing of the past " >
To: <letter@globe.com>, Letters, NYT <letters@nytimes.com>, letters <letters@providencejournal.com>, Letters <letters@latimes.com>, <ReportIt@wpri.com>

[ "Yet for all their value, letters to the editor may be endangered. A recent edition of Cascadia Daily News, the year-old Bellingham paper, took aim at the move to abolish LTEs. Writing in his weekly column, Cascadia editor Ron Judd, noted that a rival paper (the hedge-fund-owned Bellingham Herald) was jettisoning letters to the editor as 'a thing of the past' and as 'too difficult to verify and generally rife with misinformation.' ]

The REAL reason letters to the editor may be a " a thing of the past " is the ruling class fear of REAL American public opinion which is rarely GOOD NEWS for the warmongering , exploiting, oppressing American plutocracy.

Most mainstream newspapers to which I send my now " annoying " ( ? ) letters-to-the editor do not even acknowledge them ( with the exception of the Los Angeles Times ) .

But then again a 77 years longtime democratic socialist simply must be " a thing of the past " . [ Ron Ruggieri , 75 Mathewson St., Cranston, Rhode Island

phone (401-580-7432 )

[ Hyde February 22, 2023 At 7:06 am

This article makes excellent points. One further.

Letters to the editor become searchable historical documents, essentially community touchstones in history's rough draft, unlike the transient ephemera of comments lost in a digital ocean of vitriol. Publications can elevate discourse by driving opinion back to letters which require more than a drive-by snipe for successful publication.

Reply

IvanIvan February 22, 2023 At 7:40 am

Hi Jean. The New York Governor's name was Cosby, not Crosby. After all these years, I still enjoy copy-editing you.

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David M SucherDavid M Sucher February 22, 2023 At 7:45 am

I stopped reading online CrossCut when it dropped comments, (which are digital letters-to-the-editor.) I'm sometimes (especially if I know the subject area wall) as interested in readers' comments as in the author's.

I find it sad that I'll see an otherwise excellent article in PostAlley with NO — ZERO!!! — comments.

I urge Post Alley to improve its comment system.

Reply

Jean GoddenJean Godden February 22, 2023 At 10:25 am

Ivan, thanks so much for your wise correction; as always you are the gold standard. Having a good copy editor to look over one's shoulder is beyond priceless.

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I JohnsonI Johnson February 22, 2023 At 12:20 pm

I agree with Tom Hyde about the historical importance of letters, but I would extend that to comments online. The comments on The Stranger are a revelation in terms of watching the shift of public opinion over the last three years. In 2019 90% of letters would be in full agreement with the Stranger. Now there is full revolt and the percentages are flipped. The NYT comments are where I learn what an article is missing and it's context, with commenters who are often erudite and authoritative, as well as hilarious. The comment community often feels more engaged and intellectually challenging than my daily conversations. If the NYT ended comments I dare say it would lose tens of thousands of subscribers.

I too have stopped reading Crosscut since it moved comments to Facebook. There is virtually no activity on their Facebook, possibly because Facebook does not allow the commenter anonymity and conversations (cough, arguments) have been so brutal.

I believe elections can be swung by aggregate comments over a length of time. It is there that language is tested and changed and shapes the framing of issues. Witness more people referring to "up-zoning" for "equity" as "deregulation of the housing market," a sea change in perception. ]

postalley.org

Letters to the Editor are Fading Away

Despite all their value as community expression, letters to the editor have become an