A request to readers to keep your letters a tad shorter - and sweeter

Some of them are regulars.

True to his name, Tony Moschetti of High Point slices and dices anything liberal in sharp, snappy paragraphs.

Dr. John Bumgarner, 92, of Greensboro survived more than three years in a Japanese POW camp during World War II and faithfully has submitted one letter per month since I was a college freshman in 1973.

Recent Ragsdale High School graduate Ashish George is barely old enough to shave but contributes some of the most thoughtful words on these pages.

Still others are one-time visitors who are content to make their points and move on.

Either way, it's comforting to know that in this too-fast, too-busy day and age, some people still are moved or mad or delighted enough to take time to write us.

From school discipline to school choice, dueling deals for Dell to Greensboro 's slippery pact with a pro hockey team, you've kept those cards and letters coming.

Thus far this year, the News & Record has received 5,829 letters, of which
2,824 have been published. Even during a tensely fought presidential election year, that's a lot.

In 2003, the newspaper received 4,350 letters and published 2,270 of them.

During the last presidential election year in 2000, we received 4,624 letters, of which 2,501 appeared on these pages.

Even in this age of blogs and instant messages, many of you still make the effort to connect with us through the old-fashioned way. Some even type them, fold them, slip them into envelopes, stick stamps in the corner and put them in the mailbox.

Other letters come in more creative forms: on index cards, paper bags and even passionately scribbled on the offending articles that inspired them.

Yet most come as e-mails, a format that makes the transition to the printed page easier and faster.

We had wondered if you'd keep writing. There's much more competition for your attention, including the exciting new world of blogs (which also are coming soon to the editorial pages), Internet message boards and the News & Record's own Reader Advisory Network.

But the growing numbers do present a problem: We try to publish as many letters as we can. But there's only so much space in the paper. Even when we make room on the Second Opinion pages for spillover letters, some readers are not pleased; one of their favorite op-ed columnists might be pre-empted.

So we're making some changes that we hope will help ease the crunch.

For all letters submitted on or after Jan. 1, the maximum length will decrease from 250 to 200 words. This will allow more letters to be printed each day without infringing on the Second Opinion page. It also will allow for livelier, brisker letters columns that contain more voices and more variety day to day.

Some may blanch at the notion that we shortened the length of the readers'
voices in the paper while not touching the length of the newspaper's voice - the editorials in the left-hand column. But actually, we've already done that. We cut the length of our editorials in April 2001, when the newspaper converted to a slightly smaller format.

Another change we are contemplating is featuring overflow letters in the online version of the newspaper. This would allow for timelier publication during periods of heavy volume, especially election season. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, some frequently asked questions about letters:

Does the preface, "I dare you to print this," increase a letter's likelihood of publication?

In a word, no. As long as a letter meets our general guidelines for taste and length, it is likely to be published. We love variety.

Why do you publish plagiarized form letters? We don't do it knowingly. When we come across a suspicious letter we Google it for repeated words and phrases.
The Web site of the National Conference of Editorial Writers also shares alerts on astroturf, as these bogus letters are called. But it's impossible to catch them all. We'd appreciate your help.

Are there any drawbacks to e-mail letters?

More of them seem rushed. The grammar and spelling tend to be sloppier. Also, more and more letter writers are having changes of heart after submitting fiery missives for publication and then thinking better of it.

So more and more of you also are calling us later and saying, in the immortal words of "Saturday Night Live's" Emily Latella, "Never mind."

Instant reactions aren't always the best. Maybe that letter telling a county commissioner what he can do with his budget could be a little less, um, strident.

It might be worth counting to 10 before tapping the "Send" button.

Contact Allen Johnson at ajohnson@news-record.com

News & Record
December 12, 2004

School violence

Why all the hand-wringing, and gnashing of teeth over the continuing violence in our left wing indoctrination camps, mistakenly identified as public schools? It’s obvious the problems are due to lack of funding and lack of diversity, the two most important aspects of our comical education system today. Hey, these folks are simply prepping for a career in the NBA, another monument to the benefits of diversity. A possible short-term fix would be to appoint Ron Artest to head the conflict resolution experiment until the school board can go to court to sue for another five or ten million to pour down this endless black hole.

How did we end with a society where the schoolhouse is one of the most dangerous places you can leave your children? How can an institution with continually increasing funding be such an abject failure? Why are forced, because of political correctness, and total gutlessness of politicians, and school administrators, to put up with the never- ending violence of on small segment of our society? What in the name of heaven is wrong with these people? Are they genetically disposed to violence, or is it a total lack of any kind of decent rearing? This hip-hop culture is dragging our country into the gutter. They can’t even have a televised awards show without violence. It is about time that the so-called leaders of this community stops looking for racism around every corner, and begins addressing the serious problems in their own community.

Butch Davis recently criticized Steve Arnold for a tongue in cheek slap at the problems at the Andrews Correctional facility. Mr. Davis needs to spend more time trying to solve this violence problem, and less time criticizing the one person with the courage to speak out on this ridiculous issue.

Tony Moschetti
High Point, NC

December 3, 2004