Your voice - Gisborne Herald letter-writing initiative

The Gisborne Herald is pushing to see more letters submitted by readers. Photo / 123rf

Kia ora koutou, hello all.

My name is James Pocock, and I am the The Gisborne Herald editor.

I want to share with you an initiative, starting today, that I hope will amplify the voice of our readers.

I started in the editor’s role earlier this year. It has been one year since I moved to this region from neighbouring Hawke’s Bay to take up the role of chief reporter.

It has been a big change for me transitioning into two new roles over a relatively short timeframe in a new region.

However, in some ways, Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti are not too different, with the shared trauma of Cyclone Gabrielle along with a spate of other major weather events over the past three years.

They also have people who deeply care about their communities and their region. From what I have seen in my time here, Tairāwhiti has plenty of community spirit and good people doing positive things.

Letters have always been important to readers and play an important part in our democracy. They allow people to express views on those important issues that affect us all, but also to shine a light on the good things happening around us.

My vision is to see more people writing them and engaging with The Gisborne Herald through our letters columns.

But we need your help.

We are today starting Your Voice – a push to encourage readers to submit letters.

We will prioritise the letters you send every week. There is a lot to talk about with the local body elections, how our region is affected by national reforms, our local heroes, successes and more.

For example, NZME’s On The Up campaign, of which The Gisborne Herald is a part, showcases uplifting stories of local success, inspiration and possibilities.

We would love to hear about who or what deserves this spotlight in your letters – a shout out your neighbours, your colleagues, sports success and community kaupapa.

The letters section is a great place to showcase these shoutouts.

Today, we have published two letters that speak to issues and shoutouts.

To also help, we’ve freshened our letters guidelines. These are designed to foster productive discussions and to help get your letter published more easily.

A good letter expresses an honestly held opinion, based on facts. Spelling out those facts can be helpful. Please take the time to carefully read our revamped guidelines below and reach out to me at editor@gisborneherald.co.nz if you would like some guidance or just to chat about writing a letter.

I’m here to help.

I look forward to reading more of what you have to say about what matters to our community.

Guidelines

• Max 350 words
• Please include full name, address and contact details for our records only. No noms-de-plume.
• Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.
• Letters must be original and factually accurate.
• No personal attacks, defamatory claims or offensive language.
• Local letter writers are given preference.
• All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and legal reasons at the editor’s discretion.

Send to: editor@gisborneherald.co.nz