Why you should be writing to the papers about climate change
In the fight against climate change, the media can be a vital campaigning tool. Here at Possible, our press and PR officer Alex works hard to get the word out about all the great stuff we’re working on. But you don’t need to be a professional to use the media to your advantage.
Anyone can write to a newspaper, and even if you’re ‘letter to the editor’ isn’t published, we know they can help show editors what their readers are thinking. Many papers are really sensitive to their mailbag, so it’s worth letting them know your views.
Whether you want to stand up for onshore wind turbines, demand better cycle lanes, or see a ban on single-use plastic, here are a few key reasons why letters to the editors can be a key part of your campaign.
They get the message out - letters are an easy way for anyone to get their opinion seen by a large number of people they might not normally interact with.
They generate discussion - A good letter often inspires responses from other readers, or at least gets people sharing and chatting about it online. This gives you a public platform to launch a discussion, and allows others to show their support for your ideas.
They inspire action - got a campaign action you’d like people to do? A letter can be a great opportunity to name-drop your campaign, allowing others to find it and get involved.
They can influence the direction of future reporting - If a paper receives multiple letters on a subject, or a letter generates discussion, it can give the editors a clue as to what their readers care about and they may choose to cover that issue more in the future.
Politicians or other targets could see them - Politicians read papers. Your MP or other representative will likely be keeping abreast of local and national news to help them understand what their constituents care about. As well as gathering support from other readers for your campaign, an open letter could well be seen by the person your campaign aims to influence.
How to write a great ‘letter to the editor’.
Think about your audience - national papers might have a bigger reach but they get hundred of letters everyday, so yours will have to really stand out to be published. For local issues, local or regional papers might be a better bet - your letter is more likely to be printed and the people who see it will be more likely to have a personal stake in the issue.
You stand a better chance of being published if you are writing a direct response to a recent article. Reference the article in the first sentence of your letter.
Include your contact details, as they might want to call and verify your identity. If relevant, give your job title or the name of a local climate group your are part of (with the group’s consent), as this can give you legitimacy.
Write simply and clearly and avoid jargon. You want readers of the paper to be able to understand your argument. Be concise and to the point and aim for a punchy opening sentence.
Tell readers why the issue is important, show some evidence, and if possible propose a solution. Your letter is more likely to be published if you are saying something new, rather than simply agreeing with a previous letter or article.
Generally, letters should be kept to under 300 words. Editors cut from the bottom-up so essential information should be in the first paragraph.
Multiple letters, preferably from different people, can help keep the issue on the page for longer.
If you want to take things a step further than just writing a letter to the editor, our friends at NEON have produced a brilliant press officers handbook full of tips (we even helped with a few).
