These findings will no doubt be scoffed at by many Americans who are certain that they, and nearly everyone they know, are overworked (and who may find time to write letters to the editor saying so).

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"This 'controversy' stems from the perception that I'd be favoring a visiting team from the Valley over the local Juneau team, and that 'parents are sensitive to this, they may write letters to the editor, ' etc, " she wrote.

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We coolly suggested she write a letter to the editor.

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And, in the days that followed, someone would write an angry letter to the editor complaining that these people weren't melting into the pot.

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In 1956, Phillips was new to the San Francisco area when she called the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle to tell him she could write a better advice column than the one she had just read, her syndicate Universal Uclick said.

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Also, sometimes a writer can select a story from the list of available topics to write and write it, meeting all the Demand guidelines, but an editor can kill the piece without a kill fee.

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Mr. Abelson served for 11 years as editor of Barron's, ending in 1993, and stayed on to write the column he began in 1966.

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In the past, he says, it was always possible to write a letter to a newspaper's editor.

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My newspaper promoted me from Senior Staff Writer to Projects Editor and struck up a partnership with the UK's Guardian and Observer, where I write for the latter for half of every month.

CNN: A life-changing experience