What is an opinion article?

An opinion article, sometimes referred to as an Op-Ed article, is a commentary written by someone who is independent of the newspaper. These articles are published alongside the editorials, columnists and letters in the Global Opinion section and the Views pages of the print editions of the International Herald Tribune (IHT). These are the only pages on which the IHT presents opinions, whether those attributed to the paper, to columnists or to contributors. The Views pages are entirely independent of the news pages. The editors and reporters of the news department are not allowed to inject opinions into their work, nor to write for the Views pages. The editor of the editorial pages answers directly and solely to the Publisher.

What is the difference between an opinion article, an editorial, a column and a letter?

Each part of the Views pages has its own function. The editorials in the IHT represent the opinion of the newspaper and its parent, The New York Times. They are produced by the editorial board of The Times and the IHT after discussions in which editorial-page editors of the IHT participate by telephone. Letters to the Editor are the response of readers to articles or editorials in the paper. The columnists are writers who appear regularly under an arrangement with the paper, whose views do not necessarily represent those of the paper. The opinion articles are contributed by people from outside the paper and represent their own views.

How do IHT editors choose what to publish?

We usually publish six articles a day on the Views pages, or about 30 per week. Of these, about a third are by regular columnists or contributors to the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times. The rest are drawn from articles we received at the IHT, whether solicited or unsolicited. We receive about 200 of these each week, so we are compelled to reject many fine articles, and do not have time to explain personally to the writers why we have done so. All we guarantee is that we review each article we receive. In fact, many are read by two or more editors, and some are hotly discussed.

Our choice of articles to publish is based on a wide range of criteria. We like to twin articles on a major issue of the day, so timeliness and newsworthiness are important. We like counterintuitive and contrary views that fuel debate, especially if they run contrary to our editorial position. We very much like good writing, expertise, experience, originality and strength of argument. We especially like personal stories. We have a separate column called "Meanwhile" in which we look for first-person narratives, humor and a good yarn. Does it help to be famous or important? Yes, especially if the great one says something unexpected or candid; no, if the great one is simply trying to publish a press release.