It's Getting Harder to Catch Form Letters to the Editor

Preventing form letters from appearing on newspaper letters pages is an increasingly difficult task.

On Friday, an aborted soldier letter-writing campaign prompted political activist group MoveOn.org to launch its own letters drive to newspaper editors.

The U.S. Army instructed one of its units in Iraq last week to stop a form letter campaign to American newspapers. At least 11 newspapers printed identical letters from hometown soldiers that touted successes of American troops in Iraq. The newspapers that printed the letters, including The Boston Globe, said they believed the missives were unique and from individual soldiers. The Army later said the letter campaign wasn't organized by the Pentagon, but that no disciplinary action would be taken against the soldiers involved.

MoveOn, started in 1988 by Silicon Valley entreprenuer Wes Boyd and his wife Joan Blades as a protest against the Clinton impeachment, urged recipients of its e-mail newsletter Friday to write their own letters to newspapers. "We need to counter the Bush administration's PR offensive with letters to the editor of our own," the e-mail said. "Your newspaper's letters page should give you an e-mail address or fax number to use."

The e-mail includes talking points and says "writing a letter to the editor could take 20 minutes or less." Tips for writing an effective letter included:

"Your own words, written from the heart, are always best."

"The key to publication is to pounce on something specific you've seen in the newspaper ... "

"Be sure to include your name and address, and especially your phone number when submitting your letter. Editors need to call you to verify authorship before they can print your letter."

MoveOn's talking points focused on the $87 billion in funding being sought for the rebuilding of Iraq.