Persuasive Letters to the Editor, Op-Eds and Blog posts

Writing a letter to the editor, writing blogs, or commenting on blogs and newspapers online can help sway popular opinion by presenting important facts or reasoning. When writing letters or commenting, this advice may be helpful to you:

1. Be polite. Comment on actions, avoiding personal attacks.
2. Be specific. When commenting on an article, mention the title and day that the article was published. Summarize political views to which you refer. Don’t assume the reader knows what you’re talking about: Tell them.
3. Keep focused and be concise. Deal with one issue or article. The Oregonian’s letter limit is 150 words; op-ed limit is 500 words. Using fewer words increases the likelihood of getting your letter printed.
4. Use facts and figures to back up your arguments. You can find ample facts and figures on our webpage to support many pro-freedom/free-market arguments. Do not hesitate to contact us if you are writing within Cascade’s field of expertise and you need help with facts.
5. Use humor, when appropriate.
6. Check for clarity and grammar. Run spell check, and look for grammatical errors. Read your letter out loud to make sure it is clear and logical.
7. Include all the required or important information about yourself. When sending a letter to the editor, include your name, city, and telephone number. Include relevant qualifications, if appropriate. Blog posts and comments are also more persuasive when you’re willing to take responsibility for your opinions by using your real name.
8. Blog posts can be edgier. But you still should not attack individuals.

Oregon Newspapers:

The Oregonian: Oregonlive.com
Willamette Week
Statesman Journal

Here are some useful local and state blogs to read regularly, and post on, in relation to your Cascade work:

Oregon Catalyst – Cascade’s main place to blog: www.oregoncatalyst.com
Blue Oregon – “progressive” Oregon politics: www.blueoregon.com/
Businomics – Cascade chairman Bill Conerly’s blog: http://businomics.typepad.com/
Jack Bogdanski’s very prolific Portland blog: http://bojack.org/
Rob Kremer’s blog – school reform and other stuff: http://robkremer.blogspot.com/
The Antiplanner – Cato Institute’s Randal O’Toole’s blog on land use and transportation issues: www.ti.org/antiplanner/
Jeff Mapes – Oregonian newspaper political reporter’s blog: http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/