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Each week, the Pioneer receives submissions from letter-writers. Most are published 鈥� both in print and online 鈥� and some are not.

In hopes of easing the process and helping writers get their work published, here is a refresher on the rules regarding submissions to the Pioneer's opinion page.

Letters to the editor: Readers are welcome to submit letters to the editor. Letters must be submitted with the writer鈥檚 name, address and phone number for verification purposes, however, only the writer鈥檚 name and city are published.

Submission: Letters can be submitted by emailing them to letters@bemidjipioneer.com or mailing them to the Pioneer at P.O. Box 455, Bemidji, MN 56619.

Length: Letters to the editor must be 400 words or less.

Deadlines: Letters will be published in the order they are received as space allows. The deadline each week is noon Monday for the Wednesday edition and noon Wednesday for the Saturday edition.

Frequency: Letter-writers are limited to one every 30 days, occasionally rebuttal letters are allowed before that time.

Language and tone: Letters with derogatory, hateful or foul language will not be published, writers are also asked to refrain from name-calling. Anything considered slanderous or negative about people, businesses or organizations should be fact-based and done so in a way that is constructive and brings forth productive community conversation.

Avoid hearsay: Stick to verifiable facts, preferably ones that can be corroborated through news coverage or public information. If a letter contains false information and slanderous facts, letters may not be published or the letter writer will be asked to resubmit with more accurate information.

No business: Letters that can be construed as advertising will not be accepted. Likewise, letters likely will be rejected if they disparage a private business unless that business is involved in a news event.

Letter-writing campaigns: Letters produced as part of an organized letter-writing campaign will not be published, especially when it's clear the letter writers aren't crafting their own thoughts and words.

Editing: All letters submitted to the Pioneer are subject to editing for style, length, accuracy, grammar, clarity and conformation to the rules stated above. Headlines will be edited to conform to space requirements and standards. Authors who refuse these terms will be rejected.

Political and/or election-related letters to the editor advocating for or against a candidate, ballot measure or political party will be treated as paid political content and are subject to a charge of $32 for the first 7 inches and $13 for each additional inch. A 7-inch letter generally contains about 150 words.

The paid letters will be published in the Wednesday and Saturday print editions in the Pioneer, and will be clearly marked as 鈥淐ommunity Engagement Letters.鈥� They will usually appear on Page A5, which is adjacent to the Opinion page.

The deadline each week is noon Monday for the Wednesday edition and noon Wednesday for the Saturday edition.

As with other letters, they must be submitted with the writer鈥檚 name, address and phone number (only the writer鈥檚 name and city are published). They cannot be submitted by mail, as they are done through a third-party company.
To place a paid letter:

1. Go to
2. Under the Community Engagement Letter category, click Create.
3. First, enter in a title for the listing (ex. Re-elect Jane Smith). The category will be selected for you. Click Next Step.
4. From here, you can select which newspaper the listing should be printed in. You can type in the name of the city or publication. Once you have found it, click select.
5. Follow the remaining prompts to submit your letter.
6. This applies only to political endorsements or non-endorsements.

For assistance in placing a political letter, call the Modulist team at (701) 241-5509. One of the team members will answer your questions and walk you through any obstacles. 

This publication retains the First Amendment right to reject any letter that doesn鈥檛 meet the company's policies or publishing standards. A representative of the publication will decide whether a letter is subject to the fee, at which point the letter writer may decide whether to pay to have it published.