MinnPost’s Community Voices section operates like an op-ed page at a newspaper: People submit opinion pieces — some once and never again, and some repeatedly. There is no ongoing commitment. We like to publish a variety of topics, tones, political views, etc.
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Some commentaries are straight arguments for a course of action or a point of view, i.e. “Legislators should send a positive signal on Minnesota’s interest in high-speed rail.” And “In special session, restore voting rights to ex-offenders in Minnesota”
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Some are more like personal essays — see, for example, “Cheating on Minneapolis with Edina” and “A liberal finally ends a (political) love affair with Obama.” Another example: “Ramadan — a personal reflection”
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Still others are reactions to events in the news. Example: “Sex, lies and leadership: What we learn from the sex offender program and Catholic sex-abuse coverup”
All should have some relevance to current events or trends of interest to our mainly Minnesota readers. We do not publish endorsements of candidates in specific political races.
We generally limit writers to no more than one commentary a month, and usually people’s work is spread further apart than that. Even the most prolific submitters will probably only be published maybe 6-8 times a year.
MinnPost does not publish “open letters” to public officials, companies, etc. Commentary arguments should be directed toward MinnPost readers.
We don’t pay for Community Voices commentaries.
Details: We usually suggest that authors limit their pieces to about 700 words, although that’s not hard and fast. Pieces can be sent to Susan Albright at salbright@minnpost.com either as a Word attachment or in the body of an email.
Because of the volume of submissions, we are not always able to reply to authors. If we do decide to publish your commentary, we will notify you within a few days of receipt.
If you submit a commentary, please include a line about yourself to put at the end, including any particular relationship, if any, to the subject matter. A headshot photo of you would be a bonus; we like to use one whenever possible.
For more information, contact Community Voices editor Susan Albright here: salbright@MinnPost.com
