An op-ed (short for "opposite the editorial page") is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications.
[4] When Swope took over as main editor in 1920, he opted to designate a page from editorial staff as "a catchall for book reviews, society boilerplate, and obituaries".
[3] With the development and availability of radio and television broadcasting as major information outlets, stakeholders and print journalism workers sought to increase or maintain their audience and relevance.
Editors wanted to keep up readership as newspapers began to go belly up; they also needed to find new ways to compete with the versatility of TV and radio, which started to become commonplace in people’s homes.
[8] On the other hand, the general public wanted to have multiple points of view, as this time was also marked by a wave of liberalism, including the fight for gender equality and the civil rights movement.
Contributors invited to write an op-ed for an editorial commonly use appeals to ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) to structure their arguments and connect with readers.
[13] The main reason was that in the modern digital world in which millions of readers only read the Times online, it no longer made sense to speak of an article running "opposite the editorial page".
[16][17] Critics of op-ed journalism argue that it can oversimplify complex issues and may introduce bias, especially when written by people affiliated with powerful interest groups, corporations, or political entities.
They argue that op-eds can become tools for misinformation, especially in today’s highly polarized media environment, due to the lack of rigorous editorial oversight.