How to contribute to our Opinion section

VTDigger welcomes submissions to its Opinion section in the form of commentaries and letters to the editor.

Opinion policies

VTDigger strives to publish a variety of views from a broad range of Vermont voices. Our opinion section is a curated selection of commentaries and letters that are sent to us. We do not publish every submission we receive, nor do we necessarily publish them in the order received.

If you submit something to us and it is not published, that doesn’t mean there is something “wrong” with it or that it violates our policies! We might be looking for opinions on other topics at the time or we might simply be receiving submissions at such a high volume that we can only select a few. Please don’t take it as an indication that we don’t want to hear from you in the future.

What are we looking for?

  • A broad range of opinions and perspectives, written by Vermonters from a broad range of backgrounds.
  • Well-written, engaging pieces that model civil discourse and that we think will be interesting and thought-provoking to our readers.
  • Pieces that relate specifically to Vermont or have a strong Vermont angle (rather than purely giving an opinion on a national or international issue).

Please be thoughtful, insightful and constructive, and use factual information that provides context for our readers. We require links to sources for factual claims, statistics and quotes.

What AREN’T we looking for?

We do not have the resources to fact-check every assertion, but we will reject submissions we believe to include falsehoods, distortions, inaccuracies or unverifiable information. We are particularly disinclined to publish opinions related to public health and medicine that run counter to the scientific consensus and could cause harm. 

We will not tolerate discrimination, prejudice or abuse.

We’re not interested in ad hominem arguments or personal attacks.

We do not accept pieces that are written in part or in full using generative AI (like ChatGPT or other tools).

Electioneering rules

Unlike most traditional newspapers and many other news sources, VTDigger is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This means that, due to our tax status, we are prohibited from running opinion pieces that support or oppose political candidates.

We recognize that it can be challenging to determine what does and does not constitute electioneering. The following guidance is intended to provide clarity to opinion writers, but we reserve the right to reject any submissions we believe may cross the line. 

  • We will not publish pieces that call for voting for or against a candidate for office in an upcoming election (or a group of candidates, or a political party), nor will we publish pieces clearly designed to support or oppose such candidates/parties. 
  • We generally will not run pieces by candidates running for office in an upcoming election once they have qualified for the ballot, though we may grant exceptions for pieces that are clearly unrelated to a campaign. This also applies to people working on a campaign or who are otherwise clear proxies for a candidate. For declared write-in candidates who are not on the ballot, we’ll try to follow a similar timeframe. Prior to the deadline to appear on the ballot, we will not run campaign-focused pieces from declared candidates.
  • The guidance governing nonprofits does not apply to opinion pieces focused on ballot items, so we can publish pieces advocating for the approval or rejection of those.
  • We also can publish pieces advocating for candidates in legislative leadership contests that are voted on by members of an elected body as opposed to members of the general public — elections for speaker of the House, for instance.

Submission guidelines

Both commentaries and letters to the editor should be sent to opinion@vtdigger.org.

Whether you’re submitting a commentary or a letter: Please include your full name, where you live and a sentence-or-two-long bio that includes any affiliations that would be relevant to the subject of the piece. (For example, if you’re a member of a group that has advocated for or against a bill or policy you’re writing about, we — and your readers — would like to know.)

Authors are limited to one commentary or letter to the editor published per month.

It is fine to submit your opinion piece to other publications; we do NOT require that we are the only place a commentary or letter to the editor appears.

Commentaries

In 850 words or less, we invite you to share your view on a current issue you feel is important.

Letters to the editor

We invite you to write thoughtful responses to topics covered by VTDigger or to opinion pieces submitted by other readers. Share your view in 250 words or less.