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St. Louis Post-Dispatch Letter to the Editor Guidelines

The Post-Dispatch gets hundreds of letters every week.  Although each letter is not acknowledged they do read every letter.  The paper has space to publish only about 60 letters a week, so the competition is rough.  Here are 10 tips on getting your letter published:

• Get to the point.  The best letters are timely, straightforward and focused on a single issue.
• The standard limit for a letter is 200-250 words, but shorter is better.  On occasion they make exceptions.  But the chances of a long letter being published are slim.
• Be your own editor.  Letters are often written in the heat of the moment, so it’s a good idea to go back and review what you’ve written.
• All letters are subject to editing for fact, grammar, length, clarity and taste.  It’s fair to criticize the ideas and arguments of others, but they don’t allow name-calling.
• The Post does not publish form letters, open letters or poetry.   Unsigned letters or those signed with pseudonyms are never published.
• Usually, no letter writer will be published more frequently than once every 60 days.  The aim is to use as many writers as possible. 
• If you are responding to a specific article, letter or editorial, please include the date of its publication.
• Your letter must include your address and a daytime phone number.  Only your name and city of residence – not your address – will be published.  If we’re considering your letter for publication, we will call you to verify your authorship and your willingness to see it in print. 

You may send your letter to the editor by e-mail, fax or postal service.

Regular mail:  Letters to the Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 North Tucker Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63101.

Fax: 314-340-3139

E-mail: letters@post-dispatch.com (E-mails should be in plain text, not attachments.)

All letters published in the newspaper are published online at STLtoday.com.

Some letters will be published online only, in the Letters to the Editor Web log at STLtoday.com/letters.  Readers who have registered at STLtoday.com may comment on letters published in the Letters blog.