Guidelines for submitting Op/ed Articles to The Modesto Bee
The Bee welcomes commentary submissions from local residents about local, regional and state issues. We also consider submissions from nonlocal experts about issues of high interest and importance to the people living in our area.
Some further guidelines:
* Op/eds need to be more substantive than letters to the editor, meaning they need to more fully explore an issue and be written with expertise and authority. Direct and indirect quotes should be fully attributed. Sources should be cited within the article itself, not at the end.
* We prefer op/eds of 500 to 700 words.
* We reserve the right to edit all op/eds. We send them back to the writer for approval if it’s anything more than spelling or grammar changes.
* We never commit to running an op/ed until we have a chance to review it.
* We purchase very few op/eds due to budget limitations. If you are proposing to write something for us with the expectation of payment, please be up front about that.
* Many op/eds are written by people as part of their position – paid job, or elected or appointed position. When we accept op/eds from people who are not writing as part of a government position, our attorneys say we have to obtain a signed agreement. We are not allowed to publish (and post on modbee.com) op/eds for which we do not have a signed agreement. If we don’t remember to send you an agreement, please ask for it.
Op/eds appear with a byline at the top and an identifying line at the bottom. Please provide a short identifier about yourself, stating where you live and the role under which you are submitting the article. We also reserve the right to edit the identifying line.
* Op/eds should be submitted by e-mail to Opinions pages editor Mike Dunbar at mdunbar@modbee.com. We prefer that the op/ed is within the text of the e-mail or is submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment. If you use a word processing program other than Microsoft Word, please send the article within the e-mail.
Questions: E-mail or call Mike Dunbar at mdunbar@modbee.com or (209) 578-2325.
This story was originally published June 27, 2011 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Guidelines for submitting Op/ed Articles to The Modesto Bee."