The Gray Lady thinks the term “op-ed” has grown gray with age and plans to retire it.
Kathleen Kingsbury, the opinion editor for the New York Times, wrote that the term “op-ed” has become outdated in the digital age, given that the term is short for “opposite the editorial page” in a physical newspaper.
“It’s time to change the name. The reason is simple: In the digital world, in which millions of Times subscribers absorb the paper’s journalism online, there is no geographical ‘Op-Ed,’ just as there is no geographical ‘Ed’ for Op-Ed to be opposite to,” she wrote on Monday. “It is a relic of an older age and an older print newspaper design.”
Instead, these stories that “stimulate thought and provoke discussion of public problems” will be called “guest essays.”
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“Terms like Op-Ed are, by their nature, clubby newspaper jargon; we are striving to be far more inclusive in explaining how and why we do our work,” Kingsbury continued.
Although the opinion editor applauded the rise of online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, she maintained the importance of opinion articles.
“What is disappearing … are spaces where voices can be heard and respected, where ideas can linger a while, be given serious consideration, interrogated and then flourish or perish,” she wrote.
The newspaper’s opinion section made headlines after it published a controversial op-ed by GOP Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton last June. The New York Times faulted a “rushed editorial process” for the publication of the story, which called on then-President Donald Trump to enact the Insurrection Act if the national unrest following the death of George Floyd weeks prior did not abate.
“We’ve examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication,” a New York Times spokesperson said. “This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an op-ed that did not meet our standards. As a result, we’re planning to examine both short term and long term changes, to include expanding our fact checking operation and reducing the number of op-eds we publish.”
Kingsbury appeared to reference the newspaper’s sometimes controversial op-eds, saying that the editorial board likes people it invites to write “to sometimes be surprised by the offer.”
“We are not an unthinking assembly line or disinterested referees: We want not only individual essays to have intention, but also the collective report itself to have intention,” she wrote of the editorial process.
Other news outlets have made similar stylistic changes, banishing terms deemed to be outdated. The AP Stylebook, for instance, has called for eliminating the term “mistress” as outdated and sexist.
“We now say not to use the archaic and sexist term ‘mistress’ for a woman in a long-term sexual relationship with, and financially supported by, a man who is married to someone else. Instead, use an alternative like companion or lover on first reference. Provide details later,” it tweeted on May 8 of last year.
Months later, the AP Stylebook, along with other outlets, such as the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and NBC News, announced a new policy of capitalizing the word “black” when used in reference to people.
“Not capitalizing ‘Black’ in [reference to people] can be seen as dismissive, disrespectful, and dehumanizing,” Dictionary.com said when explaining its decision last summer.
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Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died last May after he was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill. Now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was seen placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. His death sparked multiple demonstrations throughout the United States and conversations within media outlets about some of their linguistic choices.
Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death and could face up to 40 years behind bars. The judge announced last week that his sentencing trial would take place in eight weeks.
