Our new op-ed submission policy

We have always strived to be a reliable landing spot for opinion pieces across a broad range of the issues within California public policy. As such, we have for years received a steady stream of well-written and timely op-eds that speak to so many of those issues. Our process has always been to use a gentle hand in terms of screening and editing, and to run them in the order received, no exceptions.

Alas, the times they are a-changin’.

In recent months we have received an influx of op-ed submissions beyond anything we have ever had previous, to the point where our backlog – even with running op-eds every day – was approaching two months. We have twice now had to stop taking new submissions altogether just to allow us to get caught up. That is not good for you or for us, so today we’re starting something new.

Effective immediately, we are going to more closely vet what we will consider publishing in our opinion space. To help us do this we will now require all op-ed submissions to go through our online form that will provide us with the basic information we need to determine if we want to consider that possible submission. The form includes a 100-word maximum spot for telling us about your op-ed. If we like the idea and want to see more, an editor will get back to you in short order. If not…you know this one is not for us at this time.

Our guidelines page still has all the rest of the pertinent information you’ll need for your actual op-ed. Reviewing those guidelines should be your first step even before filling out the online form.

We understand this is a major change and appreciate you understanding our reasoning.