Want to comment on a story or issue in news? Here's how to get your voice heard. | Opinion

Letters to the editor are as old as newspapers themselves. People who write about issues of the day find themselves in good company, with the likes of Benjamin Franklin, who as a young man wrote letters to his brother’s newspaper under the pen name Silence Dogood.

Later in his life, Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette helped establish the American tradition of average citizens pointing out the foibles of officials, praising or criticizing newspapers and holding government and institutions to account through letters to the editor.

That history continues to this day at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, though a few things have changed since Franklin’s times. We verify the identity of letter writers. We also post a selection of the best letters on the printing press of the 21st Century, our digital news site.

In the wake of the Journal Sentinel no longer having a comment function on our articles at JSOnline.com, consider having your voice heard by sending a letter to the editor or a guest column. Both are a key part of our goal to share a wide range of viewpoints from people across Milwaukee and Wisconsin, especially in a pivotal election year.

Tips for getting your perspectives published in Journal Sentinel

 Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:

• Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.
• Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. 
• Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter.
• Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. 
• Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person.
• We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions.
• We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters.
• Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.
• All letters are subject to editing.
• Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the bottom of this page.

We look forward to publishing your letters!

Guest columns are longer, more comprehensive submissions

Do you have more to say than can fit in a letter to the editor? The Journal Sentinel also publishes guest columns, sometimes also called op-eds. Guest columns are longer, include more sources and represent a higher quality of arguments and writing.

We only publish op-eds written exclusively for our readers and automatically reject mass-produced work. Submissions that are shorter have a better chance of being published, so aim for 300 to 750 words. Guest columns often focus on news or events of the day, but not exclusively. Sometimes writers explore historic events, personal experiences or observations that figure into current issues. 

Want more tips for writing an op-ed? Read this guide from Harvard University

Before you submit, here are a few things to include:

• A short biography, two sentences at most, to run at the end of your column.
• If you or a business, trade group or other institution with which you are associated stands to gain financially or in any other way from your column, you should disclose that information to us in detail. In most cases, it should also be included in the body of the piece or in the author's biographical information. People featured in columns must be identified by their real, full names.
• Links (URLs, not headlines or footnotes) to back up quotes and factual material.
• A headshot in .jpg format. 

You can send op-eds to jsedit@jrn.com. If you have an idea and need some guidance, or have a question about submission, message Ideas Lab Editor Jim Fitzhenry at: jfitzhen@gannett.com.