News Tips:

If you have any worthwhile news tips which fit the kind of issues we cover, please let us know. We guarantee that your anonymity will be fully respected, though we must caution you that if you come across activities of a criminal nature your first responsibility is to contact the law enforcement agencies.

In general, always bear in mind that there is a clear difference between tipping us off about something which you have good grounds to believe should be followed up, and relating baseless gossip. We will be enormously grateful for the former, whether or not it turns out to be useful. We are simply not interested in the latter.

To tip us off about something, please write to submissions@thecommentator.com

Op-ed submissions:

In theory, anyone can write for the Commentator, regardless of age, experience or institutional background. That also applies in practice, but we will usually be looking for something significant in your background suggesting you are qualified to talk about your subject. This might be an affiliation with a think tank, a non governmental organisation, a university, or a political party. You might have written a book on the subject or articles on it in respected publications. You might be a freelance writer or someone with a particular expertise who is, nonetheless, unaffiliated. We are more interested in your content than who you are or whom you are associated with. But given the volume of submissions we receive, we have to have some sort of sifting process and this is inevitably going to take us in the direction of those who can quickly demonstrate that they are credible.

Here are some basic pointers on the kinds of submissions we are looking for:

Guidelines:

** As a general rule, op-eds should be 400-1,000 words in length. Some of the best op-eds are very short. Brevity is a virtue. Make every single word count.

**  Know your subject inside out. That means making yourself aware of what has been written about it elsewhere, and from different perspectives.

** Be sure you really know what you want to say. Have a clear and unambiguous point of view. Be as analytical and considered as you like. But keep your focus. If you lose it, you will also lose your readers.  

** The fact that you feel strongly about something is not on its own sufficient reason to be writing an op-ed about it. You need to show that you are in control of your subject, and your emotions. Prove your point with reliable evidence. To do that, use opinion polls, research from respected institutions, relevant quotations from experts in the field and so on. Readers will thank you not merely for offering them new approaches to understanding a subject but for alerting them to evidence they might have been unaware of.

** Remember that style is largely about imitation, at least in the early stages of a writer's career. If you are not used to writing op-eds, just look at how others do it. Some are better than others. But they all share one thing in common, and that thing is the ability to write clearly. Clarity is not king. Content is king. But without clarity few people are going to take the time to get to your content. Treat your readers with respect. Make it easy for them to get your point.

** Always get someone else to have a look at your piece before submitting it. A second pair of eyes works wonders.

** You don't need to submit the full article straight away, though feel free to do so if you wish. Particularly for those who have not written for us before, it may save time on both sides if you just submit your prospective first two paragraphs followed by bullet points telling us where the piece will end up. And don't forget a line or two (no more) on who you are, your affiliation etc.

** British English or American English? It's entirely up to you. We understand each other perfectly either way. If you're American feel free to use American spelling. If you're a Brit use British. If you're a non-native speaker of English, you're probably pretty advanced if you've got this far. We'll be delighted to work with you, but do contact us first with a few bullet points about what you would like to write about.  

** Please don't be upset if we say no. It won't be personal, and it won't necessarily even mean that we didn't like it. We have to fit every op-ed inside a broader picture. If three people submit on the same subject at once, it is highly unlikely we will run all three of them, even if they're all brilliant. Remember, it's always going to be something of a lottery, especially if we don't know you or your previous writing.

To submit an op-ed please write to the following address:

submissions@thecommentator.com