Mr. Brent Jones
Letters Editor
USA TODAY
7950 Jones Branch Drive 
McLean, VA 22108-0605 

Dear Mr. Jones:

USA Today misleads and prejudices its readers with the publication of :"Like 
Garbo, Americans want to be left alone The spam, the calls and the junk mail 
are enough to make anyone cranky." (October 16th)

USA Today does not tell readers that newspapers and mailers compete for 
advertising dollars. It does not explain why an advertisement sent through the 
mailstream is somehow a concern, while the same ad on the same paper delivered in 
the Sunday newspaper is just fine. It does not tell readers that the term 
"junk mail" was created by newspaper editorialists in the 1950s to disparage a 
rival medium

Materials sent through the mail are not spam -- mailers pay for each piece 
they send, not recipients. No one has their dinner interrupted by neighborhood 
letter carriers. Mail does not require the use of anyone's fax machine, paper 
or ink. The largest environmental, non-profit and consumer groups are major 
users of the mailstream -- and many rent, sell or trade mailing lists to support 
their causes. Meanwhile, the mailstream anchors products and services worth 
$900 billion annually and creates millions of jobs inside our borders.

USA Today owes an apology to its readers -- and fair coverage of every 
industry, including those with which it competes.

Sincerely,


Gene Del Polito
President