This page was designed to make it easy for people statewide to produce and submit letters to the editors, Op-eds, or My Views to their local papers. This page includes:
- A list of the ten major daily newspapers in New Mexico with information about how to submit, word limits, etc.
- Six sample letters to the editor are provided at the bottom of this page. They can be used to inform your development of letters about the 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card, but the best strategy is to read the Report Card and provide your own reaction. Please include at the end of all letters: To read the Report Card, go to RetakeOurDemocracy.org.
- A link to the Report Card and Press Release here. The Press Release may also provide ideas about what you might want to write about in your letter to the editor
Inventory of Ten Largest Daily Newspaper Outlets
When a newspaper requires you to submit via an online form, we recommend you craft your letter or op-ed in a word processing program and then copy and paste your finished product into the form. Remember, your personal reasons for supporting a bill or for recommending the Report Card, or joining the Response Network are more likely to be published and more likely to have an impact on readers.
Albuquerque
Albuquerque Journal, (505) 823-4400, 7777 Jefferson Street, Albuquerque, N.M., 87109
- Karen Moses / Editor-in-Chief, kmoses@abqjournal.com / 505-823-3803
- Kent Walz / Senior Editor, kwalz@abqjournal.com / 505-823-3802
For submissions go to the online form at http://www.abqjournal.com/letters/new
Letter guidelines: 350 words for a letter to the editor, 650 words for my view. Submissions accepted for publication may appear in print or in electronic media, including the Journal’s Internet Web site, searchable archives and databases. Preference is given to letters that are fresh, brief, clear and that don’t require factual verification. Letters must include the writer’s signature, home address and telephone, and a daytime number. Though addresses and phone numbers are not published, they are needed to confirm authorship prior to publication. Letters keyed to an upcoming event or date should be mailed well in advance. All letters and opinion articles are edited, including for length and clarity. All information is used solely for verification purposes.
Santa Fe
Santa Fe New Mexican. santafenewmexican.com, 202 E. Marcy St.,Santa Fe, NM 87501, 505-983-3303
- Email: webeditor@sfnewmexican.com
- Editor: Phill Casaus 505-986-3033
Letter guidelines. The Santa Fe New Mexican welcomes submissions to the popular Letters to the Editor and My View features of the Opinion section. Letters to the Editor are limited to 150 words, while My View features provide a space of up to 600 words. All submissions are subject to editing, including for clarity, length, civility and style. Some My View submissions may be edited to run as letters to the editor. Questions about the opinion section can be sent to letters@sfnewmexican.com. Contact information is required for opinion submissions and will be verified by an editor.
For online submissions, go to the form at :https://www.santafenewmexican.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/letter_editor/
Four Corners
The Daily Times. The Daily Times covers the Four Corners, including Farmington, Aztec, Bloomfield and the Navajo Nation.
Letter Guidelines. The Daily Times welcomes letters to the editor. Submission of no more than 400 words must include your name, address and a telephone number for verification. All letters must be signed by one individual or no more than three individuals. The Daily Times reserves the right to edit or reject any letters.
For submissions, go to the online form at: http://static.daily-times.com/lettertoeditor/. If not using the online form, letters can be emailed to letters@daily-times.com or mailed to Letter to the Editor, The Daily Times, 203 W. Main St., Farmington, NM 87401
Carlsbad, Artesia, Loving and All of Eddy County
The Carlsbad Current Argus. The Carlsbad Current-Argus is a newspaper in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It has been published since 1889. The newspaper, printed in a broadsheet format, is the local news source for the area and is published daily except Mondays. Address: 620 S. Main St., Carlsbad, NM 88220. Phone: (575) 628-5501; Fax:(575) 885-1066 www.currentargus.com
Letter Guidelines.To submit a Letter to the Editor or a Guest Column (“my view”), open the website and click on OPINION. Scroll down and click on “Submit a Letter to the Editor.” A form will open up to submit either a LTE or a Guest Column. No word limit is noted.
Alamagordo
Alamogordo Daily News, founded in 1898, is a daily newspaper published in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It carries local news as well as syndicated content from Associated Press and others. www.alamogordonews.com. 575-628-5531, Jessica Onsurez, News Director, jonsurez@gannett.com
Letter Guidelines: To submit a Letter to the Editor (LTE), open the website and click on OPINION. Scroll down and click on “Submit a Letter to the Editor.” A form will open up to submit only a LTE, with a limit of 225 words. No information was listed for Guest Columns.
Roswell
The Roswell Daily Record is a local newspaper located in Roswell, New Mexico, founded in 1891, and has a circulation of less than 25,000. www.rdrnews.com. 575-622-7710. 2301 N. Main, Roswell, NM 88201
To submit a Letter to the Editor or a Guest Column, send it to the email of Editor John Dilmore: editor@rdrnews.com. There is a limit of 400 words for the letters; no limit was given for guest columns; he will assess the column to determine if he will publish it.
Gallup
The Gallup Independent. The Gallup Independent encourages letters to the editor, which are published as available. Letters represent the opinion of the author(s) only — not the Independent.
Letter Guidelines. Letters must include writer’s name, address and phone number although only the name and community of residence will be published. Anonymous letters are not read and are discarded. Letters may not exceed 500 words. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. The Independent may choose not to print any letter for any reason. Letters may be mailed, delivered in person, faxed or emailed to: Editor, The Independent, P.O. Box 1210, Gallup, NM 87305, fax: 505-722-5750; email: letters@gallupindependent.com or letters can be submitted directly through the link at the following link. http://gallupindependent.com/?page_id=1274
Las Cruces
Las Cruces Sun News. The Las Cruces Sun-News welcomes letters to the editor. To make a submission, fill out the form at this link. https://static.lcsun-news.com/lettertoeditor/
Letter Guidelines: Letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, libel and taste. Letters must be 300 words or less to be considered for publication. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, ZIP code and phone number for verification purposes. Please allow 14 days between letters.
Silver City
Silver City Daily Press & Independent. The Daily Press & Independent serves Silver City, Grant County, the Gila Region, the Mimbres Valley, and the Mining District – Bayard, Santa Clara and Hurley, New Mexico. Nickolas Seibel, Publisher & Editor, nick@scdailypress.com. Phone: (575) 388-1576. Fax: (575) 388-1196. Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Letter Guidelines. Due to space limitations, they prefer short letters on topics of concern to Grant County residents, less than 250 words in length. Longer submissions may be rejected or considered for publication as a guest column. This is done so they can publish the maximum number of letters, and everyone has equal access to the letters column. Include a daytime telephone number and mailing address so they can verify authorship. Anonymous letters are not printed, and space limitations allow only one letter per writer per month. As has been the newspaper’s policy for more than 20 years, only letters exclusive to the Daily Press will be accepted for publication.
Letters can be mailed to: Box 1371, Silver City, NM 88062 OR submitted using their online form at www.scdailypress.com
Hobbs
Hobbs News-Sun. Serving Lea County and southeast New Mexico. Editorial fax (575) 393-5724, Todd Bailey, Editor – 575-391-5440
Jeff Tucker, Managing Editor – 575-391-5438; Daniel Russell (Publisher), 1-800-993-2123 or 575-393-2123
Letter Guidelines. They do not specify word length or other details. For questions regarding letters to the editor in the Hobbs News-Sun, email the editor at editor@hobbsnews.com.
Letters can be mailed to: 201 N. Thorp, P.O. Box 850, Hobbs, NM 88240
Sample Letters to the Editor
The letters offered below are designed to give you ideas. But the best letters are those that spring from your own heart, your own community, and your own experience. In the letter examples below, we intentionally used different tone, different rhetoric, including sarcasm and colloquialism. That is how people talk and how people write, so feel free to use your own voice and please do NOT just copy and paste one of the letters. The editors will quickly realize this and stop publishing the letters.
Letter 1: 220 Words
What happened in the 2019 New Mexico Legislature? How does it impact my life, knowing which bills passed and which ones failed to even see the light of day? Holding our legislators accountable requires full disclosure of their voting record and how decisions are made. In an environment of preying lobbyists and corporate payouts, we must question if our interests are truly being served.
Retake Our Democracy, a grassroots, volunteer-driven, non-profit organization, took action by producing a 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card. It presents an objective, statistical snapshot of how our State Senators, Representatives and Committee Chairs performed. Although several landmark bills succeeded, many critical bills involving our survival and human rights issues were never even heard or brought before a committee hearing process.
The Report reveals how the Senate Finance Committee killed 179 bills (42% of all bills sent to the committee) without scheduling them for a single hearing. The House Appropriations & Finance Committee killed 138 bills (55% of all bills sent to the committee) without scheduling a single hearing. The detailed Report Card is available at retakeourdemocracy.org.
Now is the time to break the bonds of silence and take action. We have an opportunity to stand up, become vocal at town hall meetings and public hearings and make sure our New Mexico Congressional body hears us.
Letter 2: 167 Words
I had hoped that someone would publish a report like Retake Our Democracy’s 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card. I just finished reading it and it clearly lays out how the New Mexico legislature really works, not how the legislative process is laid out in text books. I was particularly interested in how the Senate picks the Pro-Tem (Sen. Mary Kay Papen) and what incredible impact that one selection has on the entire legislative session. I was also struck by how the same eight Senate Democrats who voted no on HB 51 Decriminalize Abortion also were responsible for blocking other good bills. Who knew?
I can’t recommend this report more highly. It tells a story that needs to be told and will help me and others advocate far more effectively. I recommend your readers go to Retakeourdemocracy.org and read the report. It is right on the home page in the banner at the top. I am going to subscribe to the blog, as well. Great reporting, Retake.
Letter 3: 197 Words
For many years, I’ve been somewhat active in advocating for bills for energy and the environment. But the process confused me and so I probably hadn’t been all that effective. This past January a friend suggested I sign up for Retake Our Democracy’s statewide action alert network. I am so glad I did. I got daily alerts on key bills being heard in a committee or on the House or Senate floor. The alerts included a summary of the bill and speaking points for why the bill was good for New Mexico, along with contact information for my legislator. It was so well organized and clear. I was able to advocate almost every day.
As good as those alerts were, the 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card that Retake Our Democracy just published is even more illuminating. It gets into the inner workings of the legislature. Now I understand why so many of the bills important to our environment were killed. And in the last section of the Report Card, Retake provides steps I can take now to make a difference going forward. I recommend that anyone who cares about our future, read this report. You can get it at retakeourdemocracy.org.
Letter 4: 135 Words
I just finished reading Retake Our Democracy’s 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card. It did an excellent job of balancing praise for the legislature passing some very good legislation while also explaining really clearly how many other good bills did not make it into law. What’s more, the report went on to explain how bills pass, how they fail and what an outsized amount of power a handful of conservative Democratic Senators have. I see now that if we ever want to reform the tax system, get good energy bills passed, and diversify our economy, we all need to get involved. Our legislators need to know we are watching, they need to know we understand what is going on and then we need to show up. This report sure motivated me to get more involved. You can find it at retakeourdemocracy.org.
Letter 5: 150 Words
I was so happy with how much our New Mexico state legislature got done in the last legislative session. Retake Our Democracy just published a report card that explains how Democratic Party leadership can get things done in a jiffy when they want to. It also described how legislators, especially committee chairs, can kill bills they feel are not ready for prime time. For me, the most important thing revealed was how the bill to decriminalize abortion was defeated and the role played by eight Democratic Senators. When the session ended, I was mad that the bill didn’t pass. Then after Alabama and other states passed bills making abortion illegal in their states, I went from mad to furious. Now, after reading this report I know who to be mad at and I will be getting involved in the primaries as soon as the races get rolling. Thank you, Retake.
Letter 6: 188 words
I was really surprised when two bills designed to protect our immigrant neighbors both failed in the 2019 legislative session, one that would have prohibited us from using state resources to enforce federal immigration law, and one that keeps individuals from having to disclose sensitive personal information. Given all the horror stories on our borders, I would have thought that our legislators would do all they could to protect our immigrants. But as described in Retake Our Democracy’s 2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card, both those bills died in committee without a hearing or a vote. I didn’t even realize that was possible. I thought the bills that were introduced were voted on, yea or nay, and that you could then go back and check to see who was responsible for passing a bill you cared about or killing it. But Retake Our Democracy’s report card made it clear there that there are many ways to skin a cat. It also made it clear how important it is that we all get more involved. Best of all, they explain how to do that. Check it out at Retakeourdemocracy.org.