Letters and commentaries policies

Letters to the Editor

To be considered for publication, a letter must include a full name, community of residence and a daytime phone number (not for publication) and, if mailed, be signed. Send it to letters@sduniontribune.com.

Because of the number of letters we receive, and to allow as many readers as possible to be published, it is the policy of the Union-Tribune to publish no more than one letter from the same author within 30 days. Letters may be edited, for length and clarity, with a maximum length of 150 words.

It is also our policy to attempt to publish letters supporting or opposing a range of issues.

READERS REACT: See latest letters to the editor >>

Commentaries

The policy for commentaries is similar. Please make sure your essay meets these guidelines:

• Submissions must be up to 700 words.

• Content must be exclusive to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

• Author must be local or have direct local ties to San Diego. We can only accept a maximum of three names if essay is co-authored.

• Please include a one-sentence bio at the end with your title, affiliation and San Diego city neighborhood or other city where you live.

• Please include hyperlinks that substantiate claims, figures, findings, dates, referenced articles or studies, etc, that we will need to fact-check. Put hyperlinks directly on relevant words, not as footnotes or in parentheses.

• Please do not use acronyms without spelling them out unless their full names are extremely well-known. (Ex: FBI is fine on first reference. Not CDC.)

• If you include a photo to accompany your submission, you must be sure we have legal permission to publish the photo. Include a caption (with details like who is in the photo and where it was taken) and let us know who gets photo credit. Horizonal high resolution photos only please.

• Please include a suggested headline but also be aware we may change it to make it more engaging and more likely to surface in Google searches.

• We encourage you to share your story on social media and tag us, @sdutopinion. If you’d like to be tagged in social posts about your story, please send us your public handle(s).

• If we publish your commentary, we will need you to be available to approve any edits in a timely manner as we will be under deadline so, please also send us your cellphone number.

Because of the number of submissions we receive, it is the policy of the Union-Tribune to publish no more than one submission from the same author within three months.

You may send commentaries to Deputy Editorial and Opinion Editor Laura Castañeda at laura.castaneda@sduniontribune.com.

COMMENTARY: See latest commentaries >>

Please note: All data is subject to verification. Letters and commentaries submitted may be used in print or in digital form in any publication or services offered by The San Diego Union-Tribune.