Martin Kaff is the Opinions Editor for the New School Free Press.
What is the job of the opinion writer?
What do readers look for, and need, from our op-eds?
How can we write the most impactful pieces?
We do our very best to answer these questions every time we write and publish a piece.
We feel that our job demands that we, as best we can, contextualize, broaden, or flip on its head a discussion of issues that may seem so black and white. If someone can provide a unique point of view on Puerto Ricans getting more representation in the US government, or on people who have been convicted of felonies getting the right to vote in Florida, they just might add some nuance to that issue. If someone opens up and sheds light in a constructive way on issues of gender or sexual orientation, or on body issues, we are all a little smarter and more informed for having read one more story.
Today, more and more opinions published may be poorly informed or purely partisan, as opposed to thoroughly researched and argued. When Jeffrey Epstein died, people were quick to speculate about the circumstances of his death before anyone actually knew what had happened. What did we, the public, really know in the initial moments of the news? Likewise, when there were murmurs of Trump buying Greenland, op-ed’s about why it was or wasn’t a good idea came before stories about what was really going on, and how realistic this possibility actually was.
Being wrong is okay, and not knowing is okay, just as long as this makes us want to learn more, not dig our heels in. The more we learn about society, history, philosophy, economics, or the universe around us, the more we realize how little we really know and how much more there is to learn. But this should humble us and drive us to read and discuss and question and experience. Yelling and screaming about how wrong the other side is, no matter how sure we may be, does little to actually accomplish anything at all.
Ultimately, op-ed’s must present an argument, not simply a signal to readers that the author stands on one side or another. The “Trump sucks because…” piece or the “Bernie Sanders is too crazy to be president because…” piece or the “Joe Biden is boring because…” piece does not add anything to the conversation, or change anyone’s mind. What new perspective might move the needle? How do we think more critically and creatively about the issues that surround us and the arguments that we make to advance the conversation?
The New School Free Press believes that the op-ed’s we publish should say something new or unique in some way, whether through the argument it presents, or how it presents it. We believe it should have a headline that makes a strong statement to grab the attention of the reader, and entices them to read the piece. We believe that it should be held together by a coherent and consistent argument throughout, backed by factually sound examples or anecdotes. Lastly, we believe the issue should be personally relevant to the author of the piece.
If you have something to say that fits what we are looking for, we strongly encourage you to reach out to us at nsfreepress@gmail.com so that others may hear what you have to say.
Let me be clear that ours should not be the only op-ed you read on a subject. But if it is the third, or the seventeenth, and it changes your mind or even opens your mind just a little, then we will have done what we have set out to do.
We hope you will continue to give us your time, your eyes, and your open mind.