Pre-fab letters
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- February
- 26
My colleague Chris Mautone over at the Opinion Exchange blog often writes here about letters we receive that are just warmed-over form letters from big organizations, groups, movements, etc. The writer can clip a letter-to-the-editor template from a Web site and then tailor it to the publication. Usually, though, people just send them in as is, and that’s how we know that the submission isn’t someone’s original work, but it part of a pre-fab letter-writing campaign.
Well, such letter-writing campaigns happen on the small scale, too. I handle the bulk of the letters from Rockland, and I recently had the exact same letter (grammatical oddities and all) from two different people. It was about the March 10 Clarkstown school bond. Now, the $187 million bond is big, and it’s controversial, and it’s stirred up a lot of chatter and a lot of letter-writing. But, you have to write your own letter to get it published.
So, if your letter starts out like this, it’s not getting published:
As a long time resident, whose children (were/are) educated in Clarkstown Schools, I have always tried to support the District. Unfortunately, that support will not include the upcoming $187MM bond vote on March 10th.
Notice the option for the letter writer to specify if his or her kids are now current or are former Clarkstown students. This writer didn’t even bother to personalize the letter that much. I would like to thank this writer, though, for making my job that much easier.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 4:00 pm by Nancy Cutler.
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The vote should be Naye. This bond will not do what is needed. we are taxed enough thank you very much. get vanderhoef to foot the bill. notice that the millionaires always go to the middle class for money to pay for projects. and the money never comesout of their pockets.
Funny how that happens..