I usually don't reprint letters to the Editor. I think they're basically background noise. I also think that they're mostly written by partisans and interested parties.
Here's a a prime example in today's Messenger-Post. It's from a woman who claims to have had her and her neighbor's Kuhl lawn sign stolen. That may or may not be true, but she also got a paycheck from Randy Kuhl last month and has been a fundraising consultant for Kuhl for at least a year.
The difference between a letter to the Editor and an Internet comment is the editing process that supposedly goes into picking those letters. Out of a massive stream of mail, the paper picks a half-dozen letters to print. I think this means that newspapers ought to exercise a bit of due diligence, especially around campaign time.
(Thanks to a reader who wishes to remain anonymous for the tip. For fairness sake, I'll break my LTE rule for anyone who can find a Massa LTE from someone on his payroll around the time the letter was written.)