The Daily’s Opinion Policy: Op-Eds, Letters to the Editor, Columns and Editorials

Op-Eds

An op-ed in an opinion piece written by an individual or group of individuals affiliated with Northwestern or Evanston. Op-eds must address issues relevant to The Daily’s audience — these include campus and Evanston issues as well national and international issues that impact the Northwestern or Evanston communities.  

Op-eds must be written by members of the Northwestern or Evanston communities — this includes students, faculty, staff, alumni and Evanston residents. Rare exceptions may warrant the publication of pieces by unaffiliated authors. 

The Daily reserves the right to edit op-eds for clarity and brevity, as well as for AP and Daily Style. The Daily also fact-checks all op-eds and may request factual support for statements made in an op-ed. Editors may cut op-eds to fit available space in the print edition. The publication of an op-ed is at the discretion of the Opinion Editor, Managing Editors and Editor in Chief. The Opinion editor prioritizes letters and columns that contribute to a diverse array of perspectives on an issue.

Outside of extremely rare cases, The Daily requires that op-eds be signed by at least one named individual. Only those who author a piece or contribute writing to the piece may sign on to an op-ed. Op-eds written by non-Daily staffers cannot include reported content such as interviews or individually-performed informal research. Op-eds do not respond to previously published content; see Letters to the Editor. 

Op-eds can be submitted via email to [email protected] and should be no more than 800 words in length. Op-eds exceeding 800 words will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The Daily generally does not publish op-eds from the same person or people more than once a week.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor must respond directly to content published by The Daily Northwestern, whether it be an opinion piece or a reported story. Letters to the Editor do not address other topics or issues; see Op-Eds. 

The Daily requires that Letters to the Editor be signed by at least one named individual. Only those who author the piece or contribute writing to the piece may sign on to the Letter. The Daily will not publish Letters that act as petitions. 

The Daily reserves the right to edit Letters for clarity and brevity, as well as AP and Daily Style. The Daily also fact-checks all Letters and may request factual support for statements made in a Letter. Editors may cut Letters to fit available space in the print edition. While The Daily tries to publish all Letters to the Editor, the publication of a Letter is at the discretion of the Opinion Editor, Managing Editors and Editor in Chief. 

Letters to the Editor can be submitted via email to [email protected] and should be no more than 800 words in length. Letters exceeding 800 words will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The Daily generally does not publish Letters from the same person or people more than once a week.

Columns 

Columns are regularly occurring opinion pieces by Northwestern or Evanston affiliates — this includes students, faculty, staff, alumni and Evanston residents. The Opinion Editor selects columnists who they think will contribute interesting and diverse pieces on a quarterly basis. 

Columnists typically focus on a particular issue or theme. Northwestern or Evanston community members interested in writing a column should email [email protected]. 

Editorials

Editorials are written, edited and agreed upon by the majority of The Daily’s Editorial Board. Editorials are voted upon by the Editorial Board, but may not reflect the views of every member of the Editorial Board. The current Editorial Board can be found here.