Letter to the editor

A letter is a written expression or information on a particular topic. He responded normally to a newspaper and magazine articles ( or posts an internet forum or newsgroup ). He grabs a contribution to, agrees to supplement or contradict and is correct. The first letters are found in the newspaper for cities, towns and villages, insonderheit issued for dear compatriots old and young, the evangelical pastor Hermann Braess (1738-1797) from November 1, 1786 in Wolfenbüttel.

Send reader such letters usually on the Briefweg, fax or e -mail. They will be published in appropriate headings ( in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, for example, " letters to the editors ", and in the era Günther Nenning the Austrian magazine FORVM under "Letters to the Editor ").

The Linguistics assigns the letter to the " judizierenden text types " to.

Selection

Select letter to editors from the set of letters often by media-specific criteria ( news values ​​- that is, timeliness, prominence and competence of the author, etc.). They fit the mold in terms of their editorial principles house conventionally accepted spellings and formalities (for example, abbreviations, changes, substitutions such numbers ). Listener and viewer calls in ongoing radio programs, also called participatory programs are often similar in nature and how readers' letters some citizen journalism. However, consignments only for listeners 'and viewers' reactions are rare.

Reputable and dubious practices

Dubious editors write letters occasionally even to feign for an article or a topic of public interest or to start a campaign or cause, but not to bear the full responsibility, but pass on to fictitious reader. Directive 2.6, the issue of the German Press Council in its press code and has last updated on 3 December 2008, says in detail what editors have to consider when letters from readers. As a rule, pay editors that they are aware of the authors of the letters for the name and address. In sensitive cases, there is an impression in comments such as " The writer of the editorial is known ." But some editors to publish more and more blogs and emails that call as author only abbreviated names, nicknames and pseudonyms. The satirical magazine Titanic maintains instead of letters to a division "Letters to the reader ," in which they - in the form of letters to her alleged readers, such as " And although you Bastian Schweinsteiger most giving, the research and unconcerned ... " - behavior of celebrities and public life commented.

Trivia

World record holder in letter writing is according to the Guinness Book of Records 2002, the then 32 -year-old justice officials Leif Boysen from Flensburg. Since 1982, about 100 publications over 2000 of his letters were printed.