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A Study Of Letters To The Roanoke Times

Posted by Chris Berry on July 16, 2008 in Roanoke Valley, Writing and Blogging

Before moving back to Roanoke in late 2002, I had spent the previous 20 years living in a number of major metropolitan areas, including Richmond, Charlotte, Washington, DC and even Buffalo, NY. I lived for 10 years in the DC area, and while I enjoyed the time I spent there, there are only a few things that I occasionally miss. In addition to some of my favorite restaurants, I experience a brief longing for the Washington Post every morning when I read the letters to the editor in the Roanoke Times.

The letters section is supposed to be a forum where informed readers can share their ideas and opinions on a variety of important topics, and challenge the ideas and opinions of others with carefully constructed logical arguments. Like most big city newspapers, The Washington Post has a decidedly liberal slant, but it also has a highly educated and well informed audience. As a result, the editorial section is filled with well written letters on a variety of weighty issues, by readers who are well versed in their subject matter. It makes for great reading.

Sadly, if a Washington Post reader came across a copy of the Roanoke Times, the impression would not be so positive. I read the letters first thing every morning in the hope that I will come across something thought provoking to jumpstart my brain. What I usually find instead is mindless drivel. After years of study and analysis, I’ve determined that virtually all of the letters in the RT fall into one of the following seven categories.

Complaints About Print Quality

Hardly a week goes by without at least one letter complaining about the print quality in the newspaper. These usually focus on the fact that it makes the crossword puzzle impossible to solve. Not content to merely complain, many readers offer their own creative suggestion as to how the entire contents of the paper can be rearranged so that some other less important section can become illegible instead.

Complaints About Lack of Coverage

Readers frequently write to complain that the newspaper did not have a reporter on site to cover some event near and dear to their hearts. Occasionally these complaints are valid, but more often than not, the reader is offended that the paper failed to cover their granddaughter’s dance recital.

Complaints About The Editorial Policy

The RT has a policy that it will only print one letter per month from a given reader. This in turn has led to a small number of readers who write once a month without fail, to complain about the fact that they are only allowed to write once a month.

Letters in Support of Political Candidates

Roanoke Times readers are fond of using the editorial pages to show their support for candidates for elected office. While an occasional letter might point out the candidate’s position on a meaningful issue, they usually rely on more basic arguments. My personal favorites are “he won’t take our guns away”, and “he’s a good Christian family man”.

Living In the Past Letters

A large percentage of letters to the Times are from readers who long for the good old days, and whose fervent desire is to turn back the clock to the 1950’s. These readers are opposed to anything resembling progress or change, and frequently rely on fond childhood memories rather than facts to support their arguments.

Incomprehensible Letters

A small but statistically significant number of letters fall into the category of incomprehensible. You can read them a dozen times or more and still have no idea of what point the writer intended to convey.

Jesus Letters

A disturbingly large percentage of readers base their arguments for everything entirely on their personal interpretations of the bible, or on their ability to somehow know exactly what Jesus would do in any given situation. The most heated debates on the editorial pages usually involve readers with conflicting viewpoints, both relying on flawed interpretations of the bible to support their cause. Who needs logic or rational discourse when the bible explains everything?

There are three possible explanations for the poor quality of the letters to the Roanoke Times. Some would argue that the Roanoke Valley is populated entirely by uneducated Jesus freaks living in a time warp. Based on first impressions alone, it’s not too difficult to understand why outsiders might believe this to be true. I believe that there are two primary factors at work, both of which contribute equally to the problem. One is that the people who have something worthwhile to say on the important issues of the day have turned to other means of expression. The internet provides countless forums for reasoned discourse on virtually any subject imaginable, and the interactivity of these venues provides a far more satisfying experience for the writer. The other problem is that Roanoke is still a small town at heart, and people whose ideas and opinions might rock the boat tend to keep their mouths shut for fear of reprisal.

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