Contact your local newspapers, local TV stations, major news networks, and major newspapers and how to write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) or article on wild horses
During the recent 2025 Wild Horse Summit, Michael Standaert with the North Dakota News Cooperative, gave us these tips. You can also watch his presentation and Q&A here.
• Reach out to newspaper / magazine editors and ask who would be best on their staff to cover this issue
• Research the reporter and see if they cover similar stories, animal issues, public lands issues, problems with gov't agencies not being transparent, etc
• Invite the reporter to a cup of coffee
• See if the newspaper or magazine has an animal section you can contribute to
• All publications have a different audience, take that into consideration
• Link your idea to another story that has made the news recently (ie a current roundup being written about)
• Daily news reporters are busy and will need quick facts; have your facts written down and be specific and to the point
• More in-depth reporters will want a fuller picture and write a longer piece
• Reach out to your local city/town chamber who send out email blasts
• Look for influencers / non-traditional media / someone with a huge FB/IG presence & reach out to them individually
• Call news stations and papers and ask them if they have seen what is going on and would they consider covering it - tell them this is a big issue and it should be covered
• Get a group of people to call the same station/paper and ask them to cover it
• Pictures and videos can help attract a reporter to an issue, call and ask if you can send it to them
• If the paper/station only covers half the story, call them and tell them they only covered half the story, 'you missed other multiple aspects of the story'
• Point out that public lands belong to all Americans therefore it is a national story
• How to find a non-biased news outlet: maybe check to see what stories they cover and keep explaining your points of view
• National outlets will have less influence than some local papers in certain states
• Keep in touch with reporters and provide them with new info when it comes up - it might encourage them to then do a story and a follow-up story. Be gently persistent.
• Look for freelance journalists and writers to take your story to
You can reach Michael for suggestions or tips at:
standaert@protonmail.com
Michael@newscoopnd.org
newscoopnd.org
• Reach out to newspaper / magazine editors and ask who would be best on their staff to cover this issue
• Research the reporter and see if they cover similar stories, animal issues, public lands issues, problems with gov't agencies not being transparent, etc
• Invite the reporter to a cup of coffee
• See if the newspaper or magazine has an animal section you can contribute to
• All publications have a different audience, take that into consideration
• Link your idea to another story that has made the news recently (ie a current roundup being written about)
• Daily news reporters are busy and will need quick facts; have your facts written down and be specific and to the point
• More in-depth reporters will want a fuller picture and write a longer piece
• Reach out to your local city/town chamber who send out email blasts
• Look for influencers / non-traditional media / someone with a huge FB/IG presence & reach out to them individually
• Call news stations and papers and ask them if they have seen what is going on and would they consider covering it - tell them this is a big issue and it should be covered
• Get a group of people to call the same station/paper and ask them to cover it
• Pictures and videos can help attract a reporter to an issue, call and ask if you can send it to them
• If the paper/station only covers half the story, call them and tell them they only covered half the story, 'you missed other multiple aspects of the story'
• Point out that public lands belong to all Americans therefore it is a national story
• How to find a non-biased news outlet: maybe check to see what stories they cover and keep explaining your points of view
• National outlets will have less influence than some local papers in certain states
• Keep in touch with reporters and provide them with new info when it comes up - it might encourage them to then do a story and a follow-up story. Be gently persistent.
• Look for freelance journalists and writers to take your story to
You can reach Michael for suggestions or tips at:
standaert@protonmail.com
Michael@newscoopnd.org
newscoopnd.org
We need nationwide coverage too:
I have listed the information for national big news channels and national newspapers below. You can send letters, postcards, and emails. Please consider following up with a phone call or a note on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram by tagging the stations and/or reporters.
Send them the fact sheets I have available here.
The more contacts we make the more of a difference we can make!
CNN: One CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303
Follow up with a phone call to their news tip line: 404-827-1500
Follow up email to: comments@cnn.com
Follow up at: cnn.com/feedback
Follow on Facebook & Twitter @CNN
MSNBC: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Follow up phone call: 212-664-6605
Follow up email: msnbctvinfo@nbcuni.com
Follow up Facebook and Twitter @msnbc
Email Rachel Maddow at: Rachel@msnbc.com
NBC News: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Follow up phone call to: 212-413-6142
Follow up email to: NBCNewsMediaRelations@nbcuni.com
Follow up on Facebook at @today and on Twitter at @TODAYshow
ABC News: 47 West 66th St, New York, NY 10023
Follow up at https://abcnews.go.com/contact by emailing Good Morning America, World News Tonight with David Muir, 20/20, and Nightline using their easy email form
Follow up phone call to: 212-456-2828
Follow up email to: news.tips@abc.com
Follow up on Facebook at @ABCnews and Twitter @ABC
CBS News: 51 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10119
Follow up Contact Form: https://www.viacomcbs.com/contact-us
Follow up on Facebook and Twitter @CBS
CBS Evening News: 524 W 57th St, New York, NY 10119
Follow up email: evening@cbsnews.com and weekend@cbsnews.com
Follow up phone call: 212-975-3247
The NY Times: 620 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018
Follow up contact email: https://store.nytimes.com/pages/contact-us
Follow up email: tips@nytimes.com
For those of you who can write an op-ed: letters@nytimes.com (150-175 words)
USA Today: 7950 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, VA 22108
Follow up contact form: https://marketing.usatoday.com/contact-us/
Follow up email to the Editor in Chief: EIC@usatoday.com
and Senior News Manager Cara Richardson: cmrichards@usatoday.com
The Washington Post: 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071
Follow up Letter to the Editor: letters@washpost.com (fewer than 200 words)
Follow up phone call: 202-334-6000
Messages:
When sending emails, postcards, or letters to newspapers and news stations, use your own wording and/or work from the items below:
I have listed the information for national big news channels and national newspapers below. You can send letters, postcards, and emails. Please consider following up with a phone call or a note on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram by tagging the stations and/or reporters.
Send them the fact sheets I have available here.
The more contacts we make the more of a difference we can make!
CNN: One CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303
Follow up with a phone call to their news tip line: 404-827-1500
Follow up email to: comments@cnn.com
Follow up at: cnn.com/feedback
Follow on Facebook & Twitter @CNN
MSNBC: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Follow up phone call: 212-664-6605
Follow up email: msnbctvinfo@nbcuni.com
Follow up Facebook and Twitter @msnbc
Email Rachel Maddow at: Rachel@msnbc.com
NBC News: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Follow up phone call to: 212-413-6142
Follow up email to: NBCNewsMediaRelations@nbcuni.com
Follow up on Facebook at @today and on Twitter at @TODAYshow
ABC News: 47 West 66th St, New York, NY 10023
Follow up at https://abcnews.go.com/contact by emailing Good Morning America, World News Tonight with David Muir, 20/20, and Nightline using their easy email form
Follow up phone call to: 212-456-2828
Follow up email to: news.tips@abc.com
Follow up on Facebook at @ABCnews and Twitter @ABC
CBS News: 51 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10119
Follow up Contact Form: https://www.viacomcbs.com/contact-us
Follow up on Facebook and Twitter @CBS
CBS Evening News: 524 W 57th St, New York, NY 10119
Follow up email: evening@cbsnews.com and weekend@cbsnews.com
Follow up phone call: 212-975-3247
The NY Times: 620 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018
Follow up contact email: https://store.nytimes.com/pages/contact-us
Follow up email: tips@nytimes.com
For those of you who can write an op-ed: letters@nytimes.com (150-175 words)
USA Today: 7950 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, VA 22108
Follow up contact form: https://marketing.usatoday.com/contact-us/
Follow up email to the Editor in Chief: EIC@usatoday.com
and Senior News Manager Cara Richardson: cmrichards@usatoday.com
The Washington Post: 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071
Follow up Letter to the Editor: letters@washpost.com (fewer than 200 words)
Follow up phone call: 202-334-6000
Messages:
When sending emails, postcards, or letters to newspapers and news stations, use your own wording and/or work from the items below:
- How cruel the wild horse roundups are: talk about how the helicopters chase the horses in high temperatures, how one helicopter pilot ran a mare while she gave birth, how a foal lost its newborn hooves after being run so soon after birth, how they sometimes chase the horses for 2 hours or more, how foals get separated from the mares during roundups, and how wild horses & burros break their necks and legs during roundups. Talk about the cruelness of separating horse family bands forever.
- How the horses are treated during and after the roundups: talk about how horses are injured while being forced into small pens with each other, about the mare who broke her neck trying to escape, the many horses who have broken legs while trying to escape. Talk about how the horses have lost their freedom and families, how they go from living free to living in small long-term holding pens with no shelter. Talk about how the foals are separated from their mothers.
- How the Bureau of Land Management is abusing taxpayer funds: talk about the Path Forward Plan and how it is a path to extinction for our wild horses created by ranchers and livestock companies. Talk about how the BLM rounds up the horses, gelds the stallions and treats the mares with birth control, then releases them as a much smaller herd with no genetic viability or way to reproduce. Talk about how the BLM pays helicopter pilots (who are often cattle ranchers) hundreds of dollars per horse for each wild horse they chase into traps, equaling hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars per roundup. Tell the newspapers there is a better way: require the BLM to create and abide by Herd Management Area Plans, a requirement of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses & Burros Act of 1971.
- How the Bureau of Land Management caters to the cattle industry by shutting off water resources to wild horses and burros to save it for cattle: talk about the BLM participating in and allowing cattle ranchers to turn off or divert water from the wild horse managed areas, about how they close gates stopping the wild horses from reaching water sources. Talk about how the BLM removes the wild horses claiming there isn't enough food for the horses, yet they then allow cattle ranchers to move their cattle on to those same lands. Talk about how the cattle eat and drink 3 times more food and water than horses do, how land and ecosystems are so damaged by cattle that it can take years and years to recover. Talk about how the wild horses actually help to reseed the lands and how the wild horses live with wildlife.
- The Oil, Mining, and Cattle industries: talk about how the BLM only rounds up our wild horses to make room for oil, mining, and cattle. Talk about how much damage those 3 industries do, often irreparable, to our public lands and resources. Talk about how wild horses should be protected, how the horses could be used as tourism draws for states, and how it is important to care for our wild horses, wildlife, and public lands. Talk about how you would rather see wildlife and wild horses grazing our public lands, and you don't want to see the pollution and ugliness of oil and mining operations. Talk about how you want to see our American public lands be protected and cared for before it's too late.