Newspapers around the world often publish letters from readers.
A letter is a written document that one subject sends to another or others with the objective of establishing communication. A reader , on the other hand, is someone who has the habit of reading.
The concept of readers' letters is used in newspapers and magazines with reference to the messages sent by people who read their contents. Generally these letters are motivated by something they have read in the media in question.
The readers' letter as a section
It is common for the media to have a readers' letters section, where they publish the correspondence that is sent by people. Many times letters from readers themselves generate new exchanges of messages.
Let's see an example . A man, upon reading a doctor's statements in the newspaper about the importance of organ donation, sends a letter to the newspaper to tell of his experience. The reader, in this case, received a heart transplant years ago that allowed him to continue living. The newspaper, upon receiving the letter, decided to publish it in its readers' letters section.
From paper to digital
For many years, letters from readers were sent to the editorial office of the newspaper or magazine through postal mail . Nowadays, however, letters from readers are usually addressed to an email address. This way of interacting with the media, however, has lost popularity since today it is simpler and more direct to share opinions, experiences, criticisms and suggestions in digital editions or even on social networks.
Most letters from readers today are digital.
The transition from physical to digital format has brought many changes, some more positive than others, and the loss of popularity of handwritten letters is one of those that lovers of this means of communication most regret. Until the early 1990s, many people exchanged paper correspondence with friends and family in other parts of the world, and this activity was fascinating for several reasons.
The symbolic aspect of letters from readers
Touching the same sheet of paper as the other person, breathing the aroma of ink and some perfume that the sender decides to impregnate the letter is something that we do not find in email in any way. Digital communication based strictly on writing using a keyboard carries nothing more than messages from one point to another; An exception is with drawings made by hand, either with the help of a graphics tablet or scanned.
The readers' letter was a way to bring readers and the creators of the publications closer, not only through written messages, but also through said aromas, said textures, an exchange of energy that almost bordered on the handshake before a conversation. . One of the factors that made it more special than the current electronic comments is the wait: the lack of immediacy in communication clearly contrasted with face-to-face conversations, and the uncertainty regarding the arrival date was a disturbing ingredient at the same time. how magical
This lack of certainty, this not knowing if the letter would arrive, if it would be read and if it would be published, forced readers to recognize their space in a humble way: with the decline of the readers' letter in pursuit of real-time comments , has lost the notion of its own relevance to the point that many users seem to believe that they are the owners of the magazines they frequent and fiercely criticize journalists with a degree of insolence that they would not allow (or should not allow) even their parents or friends. .