It is to many readers a mystery, maybe even a conspiracy: Who gets their letters to the editor published, and why?
In recent weeks, I have received complaints that the letters seem to reflect a political bias, or favorites, or are anti-Cuban.
''Am I being shut out?'' asked Robert Dollar of Southwest Miami. He has published several letters, but he said that in recent weeks he wasn't even getting an automated response to his submissions. Mr. Dollar said his main interest was to make sure that the board that writes the newspaper's unsigned editorials each day -- The Miami Herald's institutional opinion -- at least reads his often contrary views.
In response to such complaints, I have been following the letters closely. I have returned to look at the comments posted online at the end of stories, to see how they compare, too. I also wanted to see if changes made to the MiamiHerald.com website had improved their often ugly tone.
The two -- published letters and posted comments -- are important because they are how readers express themselves in the paper.
What I found were some shortcomings, but they pale to something else unexpected and mesmerizing, at times making you hold your breath in fear, and other times making you want to cry . . . out of a feeling of shared community and joy.
Reading one month of the published letters in a single sitting should be an assignment for every politician, community leader and interested citizen. Called The Readers' Forum, the letters reflect a mix of opinions, often strong, but usually thoughtful and always civil in an unfolding discourse in which you can see a well-meaning community talking across barriers in a search for, if not consensus, at least understanding.
Many letters supported or opposed political candidates, but as Miriam B. Salazar of Aventura said in response to an article questioning whether Cubans would vote for a Jewish candidate for a county office, ``Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to just vote for the best candidate?''
Questioning the ''heroic'' status so easily conferred on military men, Louis Molina reached out to his South Florida neighbors with a haunting question: ``Where are the priorities? Let's honor the peacemakers and value peace above war.''
But daily life revolves around much more than big questions. ''Lost in the banter of budget cuts and related health-insurance woes at last week's Miami-Dade School Board meeting was the recognition of exceptional student efforts -- specifically, the Hammocks Middle School dance program,'' wrote Don Keans of Miami. Bless him.
Citizens sometimes get their government to answer in the letters. After one criticized traffic police in El Portal, the village manager, Jason Walker, wrote a response admitting that traffic was a ''nightmare'' but explaining that three nearby construction projects were partly to blame. He offered no solutions, but at least stood and took the heat.
The recent speech on race by Barack Obama generated a number of letters. But in place of invective, Kristin Currier of Hollywood began hers with this gentle touch: ``How sorry I am that some people denigrated Barack Obama's speech.''
Dave Goodwin of Bal Harbour, in criticizing Obama, was tougher in tone, but attempted inclusion: ``Many American blacks and other minorities have suffered the same or worse experiences and reacted with positive, constructive accomplishments instead of preaching hate.''
Nancy Ancrum, a member of the editorial board who oversees selection and editing of letters, says she gets more than 50 a day. ''There is no science to it, and barely an art,'' she said of how she makes the selections. She said that she looks for diverse opinions and voices.
I found no political slant over the past month, but Ms. Ancrum says that, in fact, she has a hard time finding letters in support of the Bush administration or the Iraq War. More people write when they are unhappy, she said. An assumption by conservatives that liberal letters are favored also seems to feed on itself, she said. ''When I get a letter from someone who is obviously conservative or in support of the current administration, I pounce on it,'' she says.
A note on the page says, ''Letters may be edited for grammar, style, brevity and clarity,'' and that, in part, explains their civil tone. Insults are cut out, though Ms. Ancrum says most of the editing is usually just for length. Readers are encouraged to keep submissions to less than 300 words.
If something is unclear, a writer may be telephoned but otherwise is not called, she said. That is a flaw in the system, I think. Ms. Ancrum said that it is rare that a writer objects to how a letter is edited, but I think all edits should be run by a letter writer. A phone call also helps prevent fraudulent letters. The New York Times, for example, clears all edits with the writer, but Ms. Ancrum says The Miami Herald lacks the budget for that sort of extra care. The system seems mostly to work.
The dearth of staff members also hampers editing for accuracy. Only ''red flags'' are checked out, she said. Dr. Fernando J. Milanes complained that a letter published last month on Cuba was filled with inaccuracies. Ms. Ancrum said she would investigate. Mr. Dollar's fear he was being shut out was due to a computer that would be solved, she said.
The online comments offer writers the advantage of instant posting and no editing, if they pass muster with software screens and editorial spot-checking for offensive language. An angry, ugly tone that crept into the comments has been greatly reduced since early March, when The Miami Herald began requiring registration of posters. Anyone can still post anonymously, but as Reader Exchange Editor Shelley Acoca said, ``What registration has done is make people feel responsible for what they are saying.''
The measure led to an initial reduction in comments, she said, but traffic is returning. More importantly, readers are beginning to police the site more and report violations to editors, she said.
Some raw comments get through. Commenting Thursday on the Legislature's apology to African Americans for slavery, ''dexmachina'' wrote: ''They are still slaves . . . of their drugs, laziness, and ignorance.'' The comments told a story of frustration along a knife edge. Some were deleted by editors. But the back-and-forth seemed to be working its way through, as the issue was recognition, not reparations.
Let's hope comments continue to contribute to responsible discourse the same way published letters have.
