Sunday, March 13, 2011

Notice to Papers

The following is an email I sent to papers throughout Saskatchewan and across the country.  I will continue to submit posts to my two blogs as usual for some period of time.

March 8, 2011

Dear Editor,

Effective April 1, 2011 I will no longer be submitting Letters to the Editor. My purpose in writing was solely to encourage people to become involved in the issues I addressed in my letters. It didn’t matter to me what their position was, but it was important for me to see them become engaged in the issues.

I don’t believe my writing made any difference, if any. Regardless, I have written letters in various papers for nearly two decades, but I never saved them in an archive until 1998. I never asked for any remittance and none was ever received, but again I never submitted letters for money. I wrote because I cared about the issues and felt others should care as well.

It is my intention to maintain my website and two blogs for a short while and then it will be time to move on to other matters more important to me. That will include my wife and family, my Siberian husky, photography, tennis, motorcycling and reading. I expect to continue writing, but it may take a new form in the future. That is a decision I have not yet made.

It has been a pleasure to write. I have immensely appreciated the various papers that have printed my letters. The weekly papers have been especially generous in covering my views. I commend them for the service they provide to their local readers. My only disappointments were two or three important issues I raised that the daily papers failed to pursue. Regardless, that was their decision and I had done all I could.

Again, thank you for entertaining my views by publishing my letters. It was appreciated. Before the end of the month I will write a more formal letter thanking the papers and your readers. I trust you will be kind enough to print that letter in your paper.