Letter addict 'mischievous monkey'

KELLY HODEL/ Waikato Times

THE WRITE STUFF: Andrew Prieditis has gained global notoriety for his newspaper letter-writing exploits.

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A letter in a newspaper should be judged on the quality of the ideas it propagates, rather than the address it comes from.

That's the view of Hamilton newspaper letter-writing addict Andrew Prieditis, who has raised eyebrows across the internet's blogosphere by his achievement having his (emailed) missives published in about 60 newspapers globally in the past six weeks usually with a false address.

Mr Prieditis has no qualms about duping newspapers with a host of fake postal addresses as long as it helps satisfy his desire to get into print.

So when Mr Prieditis writes to the Chicago Sun-Times, he offers a Chicago address. For the San Francisco Chronicle it's a San Francisco address. For The Independent (UK) it's Elland, West Yorkshire, Manila for the Manila Times, and so forth.

In a letter published in The Australian his published address was Torquay, Queensland.

The 30-year-old unemployed University of Waikato mathematics graduate hoodwinks most of the world's leading papers from a modest dwelling in Forest Lake.

"You could debate the ethics, but I use local addresses of the newspapers in question to basically make it appear as if I am from that area," he said.

"My modus operandi is all about making sure I am published. That is the important thing, rather than where I live.

"Most of the world's top publications have suffered cutbacks and there is a lack of checks these days, so it's all fair game."

Whether he is venting his spleen about the Middle East in the Jerusalem Post (from a Washington address) or singing the praises of Sarah Palin in The Dallas Morning News, Mr Prieditis always gives his real name below the dodgy addresses.

For his troubles, on the open media site Allvoices.com, Mr Prieditis has been labelled "a mischievous monkey from New Zealand".

By contrast, Texan journalist Kevin Whited has christened him "a citizen of the world".

"Mr Prieditis isn't a one-trick pony, nor is he just a man of this (US) nation. He has managed to get letters on various topics published all over the world."

Mr Prieditis started out in humble fashion by writing to Hamilton Press, then graduated to the Waikato Times, before aiming his sights on the Washington Post, Boston Herald, and The Guardian.

The subject matter might be Barack Obama, John Key, the Olympics, Somalia, the All Blacks though exactly what, is often a minor detail.

"The main thing was always seeing my name in the paper and being able to influence what others read. It's a whole lot of fun.

"It was something that just caught on once I started doing it. The more I did it, the more I enjoyed it.

"I get a sense of satisfaction in being able to put a topic or a viewpoint that I feel strongly about, out there for public debate.

"From there I've gone all the way to the top. I've had my name published in all sorts of papers all around the world.

"I've had to develop as I've progressed through the chain. No offence, but with the Hamilton Press and Waikato Times you can afford to be a bit more informal. You need to lift your game with the big papers.

"Now I need to raise the bar again. It's going to take a lot of work after this, but I'm up for it."

He uses Press Display software to keep track of newspapers on-line, and has even encouraged his brother Mathew to get in on the act.

His future targets include The Moscow Times, while Time magazine "would be the ultimate".

But watch for a letter in the Waikato Times in case Mr Prieditis wants the last word about this article.