Rules and Regulations on Letter Submission

Email: [email protected]

Our editor-in-chief receives dozens of letters from readers daily but we only publish a select few. Here are a couple of ideas to make your letter more appealing for publication.

Give your letter an angle: Try to keep your letter focused one or two points that you are trying to make. If a letter discussed several unrelated ideas, it loses meaning.

Only send your letter to JN: We appreciate you taking the time to write to our editor but please make sure that only we have received your letter. Let us know in your letter that only we have received it. We cannot publish letters that other outlets have published, nor do we consider press releases and statements to be letters to the editor.

Be selective: We are grateful for our regular letter writers but also take pride in being a news source that offers readers a variety of viewpoints. As such, we apologize for not publishing letters by the same person more than once or twice a month to give all our writers a chance to share their thoughts.

Respect is key: Jordan News welcomes strong thoughts and opinions but please be mindful of how you express them in your writing. Avoid inappropriate language at all times, Jordan News will not consider letters we deem to be offensive or insulting. Vague or extreme analogies, metaphors or comparisons will not help you make your point and go against our commitment to impartiality and objectivity.

Relevance: To give your letter a greater chance at being published, you should link it directly to a story or item published in print, on our website, application or social media. This is not mandatory but will go a long way in getting your points across and reassuring our team that this letter was meant for Jordan News and Jordan News alone.

Your affiliations: If you believe that your place of work, support for a certain political party or affiliation with an academic or official body may be directly relevant to the content of your letter – please let us know. This information may not necessarily be published but will allow us to assess the letter against our standards of objectivity.

Timeliness: While Jordan News does not impose a deadline for the submission of letters to the editor, we highly encourage you to submit as early as possible, if you wish to have your letter published in the following day’s paper.

Follow the rules Please read the submissions criteria carefully. We always need your full name (not just initials), home address and a phone number. A work address is sufficient if you are writing on behalf of an organization at that address. If we cannot find you in the White Pages, on the electoral roll or by other reliable means, we may be unable to publish your letter. We think readers should be able to trust that those published are who they say they are. Disguising or blurring your identity is, at best, a waste of everyone's time. This includes the use of maiden names. We do not allow the use of an alternative name for men, single women or married women who do not take their husband's name – it is unfair to make an exception for women who want to alternate between two names.

We do not acknowledge receipt of unpublished letters unless the writer requests it.

Anonymity: If we believe that that the publication of your letter may put you at risk of violence, we will keep your identity anonymous for your protection. Please note that this only applies in exceptional cases as it is important for us to ensure that our readers know and trust us to be transparent about anything published under the JN brand.

If you have further inquiries about letters to the editor, please email: [email protected]