Mail and Jobs -- What's It All About

With some regularity you can still see "junk mail" in the news, used as a substitute for direct mail, ad mail or advertising mail. Mailers have always maintained that the term "junk mail" in news reports prejudices any discussion of the mailstream because it presumes that mail lacks value and utility.

We are now beginning to see something else: The term "junk mail" seems decidedly less popular in journalism circles than in past years. In March, for example, The Washington Post ran a "Consummate Consumer" piece in which readers were told that "last year, the 97 billion pieces of junk mail that clogged mailboxes was up 22 percent from 2002." Really? The Postal Service would be elated by such an increase in volume -- but that 22 percent never happened.

So did every newspaper in the country pick-up the Post piece? Not hardly. We found the story reprinted in the Houston Chronicle and that was about it.

What's happened? There seem to be several reasons such stories get limited play:

• Mailers have spoken to huge numbers of editors and reporters during the past decade.
• There's a growing awareness among reporters and editors that the term "junk mail" is biased and prejudiced.
• Since newspapers and magazines compete with the mailstream for ad dollars, how can use of the term "junk mail" in news accounts not create an institutional conflict of interest?

While "junk mail" use continues to be a considerable problem, the bigger issue is that mailers need to tell our story: Mail is important to the economy. The mailstream creates jobs. Efforts to limit mail amount to censorship. Mail is an effective communication tool and can be targeted. Mail is often made from recycled materials. Mail equals jobs in every community.

We now have a place to tell our story in plain language and perspective: www.mailandjobs.com.

Please make a point of telling employees, suppliers, clients and others about this site, especially when they have questions about mail and jobs, mail and ecology and other subjects. Link to it online. This is our story, a strong mailstream is very much in the public interest and it's time to explain how mail creates jobs and other benefits nationwide.