ARTIGOS | 85 REVISTA MEDIA E JORNALISMO, Nº 14, VOLUME 8, Nº 1 - A EUROPA E OS MEDIA PORTUGUESE PRESS AND ITS PUBLIC. PERCEPTIONS AND MOTIVATIONS MARISA TORRES DA SILVA UNL-FCSH Abstract Letters-to-the-editor constitute one of the few feedback opportunities for the re- ader to have its say in press. We can indeed affirm that this newspapers’ section in- tends to operate as a space for public debate about a variety of subjects, having, thus, a democratic purpose (Wahl-Jorgensen, 1999, 2002). However, this aim can be chal- lenged by the existence of several criteria for selection of letters, in which the majo- rity of them is based in unwritten conventions and norms, thus rendering the process unclear to readers. Having previously done research about the attitudes and behaviours of Portugue- se editors and journalists towards the readers and the letters’ section, as well as the main rules for selection 1 , this paper intends to uncover letters’ writers’ perceptions about this section and compare them to the cultural construction that press has about its public. Empirical research in American newspapers shows, for instance, that these readers believe that their letters affect and form public opinion (Vacin, 1965). Through questionnaires sent to several Portuguese letters-writers, either to the occasional, either to the so-called “regular writers”, our goal is to identify their main motivations and expectations when writing letters to newspapers, as well as their un- derstanding about the section, rules of selection and editing. Keywords Letters to the editor; Newspapers; Participation. 1. This paper is part of my PhD Dissertation, set to be concluded in 2009. The research focuses on the process of selecting letters-to-the-editor in four Portuguese national press publications, in order to fulfill a larger aim: the way that the public is constructed by press; the newsroom practices and behaviours bene- ath the selection process; the way that journalists and editors see their readers; the way by which letters- to-the editor may be (or not) a real space for public discussion; the motivations of letters writers; the the- mes arousen in the letters’ section. Many methodologies are being used, such as content analysis of letters (published and unpublished), participant observation (to observe in loco the process of selection of letters, the rules applied and the attitudes of editores towards their readers), in depth interviews (with editors and ombudsmen) and questionnaires (letters writers).