Write a Letter to Your Local Newspaper
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is one of the easiest and most effective ways to spread our message of the need to harness Virginia’s energy to achieve energy independence and create jobs. Letters to the editor are published on the editorial page of newspapers each day. Journalists, elected officials and other decision makers often look to letters to the editor to gauge public opinion on important issues. Letters to the editor are also a great way to inform and empower other like-minded people in your community. That’s why it is so important that we keep up the drumbeat for energy independence on the editorial pages of newspapers across the Commonwealth.
Below is a list of the e-mail addresses for some of the major newspapers in Virginia, to which you can send a letter to the editor electronically. If your local paper is not included on this list, you can most likely find their e-mail address on their website.
Chatham Star-Tribune news@chathamstartribune.com
Bristol Herald-Courier state@bristolnews.com
Charlottesville Daily Progress ashelburne@dailyprogress.com
Daily Press (Newport News) letters@dailypress.com
Danville Register & Bee rbenson@registerbee.com
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star letters@freelancestar.com
Harrisonburg Daily News-Record letters@dnronline.com
Lynchburg News-Advance letters@newsadvance.com
Martinsville Bulletin info@martinsvillebulletin.com
Richmond Times-Dispatch letters@timesdispatch.com
Roanoke Times letters@roanoke.com
Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) letters@pilotonline.com
Washington Post letters@wpost.com
A FEW POINTERS
1) Be brief and to the point and limit your letter to no more than 250 words to increase the likelihood of being published.
2) When possible try to reference a recently published article, editorial or letter in your opening sentence.
3) Use “To the Editor” as your subject line and opening salutation.
4) Include your name, home address and phone number at the end of your letter. Most newspapers will contact you to verify that you are the author.
SUGGESTED TOPICS
Newspapers are most likely to publish letters that address timely and relevant issues that are at the forefront of public discussion. Here are some suggested topics and energy projects that are generating a lot of attention all across Virginia:
The urgent need to become energy independent from foreign oil and uranium – the fuels that power our vehicles and nuclear energy.
• Economic benefits of energy independence: jobs, economic development and global competitiveness (to learn more about the economic benefits of specific energy projects in Virginia, go to our Featured Projects and Other Projects pages).
• Security benefits of energy independence: stable, reliable and secure energy supply that isn’t dependent on foreign governments like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia.
• Specific energy projects in Virginia to write in support of: Coles Hill uranium deposit, National Academy of Sciences study of uranium mining in Virginia, Newport News nuclear components factory, residential and commercial solar installation, offshore and on-land wind farms, offshore oil and natural gas development, biofuel research and refineries and clean coal production (to learn more details about these projects, go to our Featured Projects and Other Projects pages).
