What are guest perspectives?

Then we have guest perspectives, also known as op-eds. The origin of the name op-ed is that it typically appeared on the page opposite of the editorial. That’s not the case for us, so we use the term guest perspective. There are two ways we get them. EdSource and CalMatters offer previously vetted pieces for publication. These tend to be on statewide education or political matters. We also get pieces from our community.

At times, I will solicit a guest perspective on a particular issue I find interesting but, for the most part, they are submitted “over the transom,” which is newspaper lingo for unsolicited. The only transoms these days are metaphorical ones in my email inbox.

Here is where it gets tricky. Having a strong opinion on something doesn’t necessarily warrant publication, though it certainly can help. What we do look for is a strong opinion on a topic of local importance from an expert in the field that ends with a call for action to our readers. It has to be a fresh thought that is clear and concise and that advances the community conversation.

Let me go through all of this with you, if you don’t mind. One does not need to be an official “expert” to be considered. For example, you don’t have to work for SamTrans to be an expert on buses. An observant bus rider can have an idea on transit routes that hasn’t been thought of before. And when I say fresh thought, it has to be something with all of our more than 70,000 readers in mind, and not a republication of a letter or email already submitted to someone else. Talking points from an activist group is not something we would consider for a guest perspective. We don’t want a piece that has been submitted to another publication, or that has been seen elsewhere, unless, of course, it is something we have selected. Guest perspectives are not to be used to focus on an individual, or to rant about a decision or situation. Put simply, they are to be used to bring up a policy point, highlight research and/or an opinion on it, and create a call to action. One example I always use is that of Casey Platkin, who wrote this piece for us about wage theft. In it, he used his personal situation to point to a larger situation regarding wage theft, and came up with a solution for it through the creation of an Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement. His piece was a fresh thought, clearly stated and advanced the community conversation. Thanks Casey. Bet you didn’t know your piece would be used as an example of good opinion writing!

When thinking about submitting a piece, I encourage everyone to reach out to me first to see if it’s something in which we would be interested. It could be that your piece is more suited as a letter to the editor, so it saves everyone time to simply ask.

Guest perspectives are anywhere between 500 to 780 words. They are not a response to a story, letter, column or other guest perspective. They must stand on their own. Letters to the editor, on the other hand, can be just about anything. They are about 250 words.

It should also be noted that candidates for office after the filing deadline and anyone wanting to write about election-related matters can only write letters, not guest perspectives. If we ran one, we’d have to run all, and we don’t have the space.

Putting fingers to a keyboard on an issue of local importance is no small feat. We appreciate the interest in contributing to our pages and the community discourse we encourage. However, we appreciate even more when contributors know and follow our guidelines. Any questions, just ask!

Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on X @jonmays.