Write down your thoughts, put it in a letter

The News Argus encourages the students, faculty and staff to write letters to the editor to express their opinions about any issue of the newspaper.

For some reason, readers want to express their opinions verbally to the staff instead of in the form of a letter.

The News Argus staffers value the readership, and take pride in knowing what readers think about the newspaper.

We want to give readers more of what they want.

Our relationship with our readers is important because the Winston-Salem State community is our target audience.

There are many cases where there are complaints about the content presented in the newspaper.

Instead of readers  verbally complaining, they should write them.

Letters to the editor help the staff make any corrections.

It also gives us feedback.

I constantly hear people ask the staff why certain stories are not covered.      

The staff is open to suggestions for stories, but it is up to the readers to communicate that.

Another complaint that I hear from time to time is when a story is featured on a person or an organization, the person or organization is not pleased.

Letters can express opinions about ongoing issues on campus, the community or nationally.

There are those who are hesitant about writing letters because they think the staff will edit the content and they will see a different version in the newspaper.

Our letter policy states: "The News Argus reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for clarity, length and libel. The News Argus will edit letters that are grossly inaccurate or across the boundaries of good taste."

Since I have been on staff, the most feedback I have seen from our readers was commentary online about the December 2010 fall graduation story.

There were 25 responses to the story, and each response openly expressed how the readers felt.

This is the type of response we want.             Hearing the reader's opinions through word of mouth can have a positive and negative effect.

It can have a positive effect when we are being praised for a job well done.

On the other hand, it can have a negative effect if complaints are heard, but not written.

I encourage all of our readers to send letters to The News Argus at thenewsargus@yahoo.com.

Our readers can also like us on Facebook and Tweet us @thenewsargus.  

We value our readers' opinions and they can make a difference.