This election, RTD Opinions has been clear in our support of the constitutional amendment that would change the way Virginia draws legislative and congressional districts. The measure would establish a bipartisan commission that would create the boundaries, shifting control from the General Assembly. We’ve written numerous editorials over the past two years urging lawmakers, and now voters, to pass this much-needed reform.
On our daily op-ed pages and Sunday Commentary section, we’ve published columns from contributors echoing our endorsement of the amendment. But we also have printed columns from opponents, who contend it’s not good for Virginia. Add to this mix Letters to the Editor urging both support and defeat.
The same holds true with a variety of heated issues, from the election, to the global coronavirus pandemic, to Confederate monuments, to the Second Amendment.
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As a section dedicated to opinions, we seek viewpoints from all sides of an issue. RTD Opinions provides a marketplace of ideas, where readers can find a dynamic assortment of perspectives about local, regional, national and global topics.
We live in politically polarized times. Rhetoric is shrill, vitriol is commonplace. On our pages, we welcome civil discussion, offering a space to constructively debate new and long-standing challenges alike.
We’re committed to a solutions-oriented approach to the issues facing our community. Good opinion pieces are rooted in solutions; they just don’t criticize, but raise questions and seek answers.
We view our editorials through the prism of solutions. What is the problem, and how can it be resolved? What are the questions that need to be asked? How can this be addressed to improve our community? While our focus is on local and state issues, we also consider the impact of national and global events on our region.
Two years ago, we decided to stop endorsing candidates for political office. Instead, we focus on issues-based commentary, providing our insight and analysis, as well as contributions from newsmakers, columnists and readers. Our job is to give you as much information as possible to help you make a choice.
Every day, we seek to present a robust section that engages our readers. Vital to that are contributions from our readers and policymakers, as well as our staff and syndicated columnists.
We receive hundreds of submissions a week, through columns by contributors (called op-eds), Letters to the Editor and Your 2 Cents. Our weekly challenge is figuring out how to fit the jigsaw puzzle pieces of opinions into our two daily pages and our three-page Sunday Commentary section.
Space is limited, so we have to be judicious with our selections and try to cover as many angles as possible. Except for syndicated pieces, anything we publish must be exclusive to the RTD.
How do we present our varied opinions? In numerous ways. We offer one or two editorials every day, mostly written by our Opinions team.
We spend a lot of time reviewing op-ed submissions. We publish three a day, with four on Sunday. We strive to offer a blend of viewpoints, regardless of whether we agree, on relevant public policy issues. We don’t publish pieces that are, or border on, political advertising — those belong on a candidate, group or party website.
Many of our submissions come to us unbidden, though sometimes we solicit columnists to address timely issues. A recent example includes “yes” and “no” columns on the redistricting amendment, which we published in September, or the Q&As we published in October with the presidential, U.S. Senate, local congressional and Richmond mayoral candidates.
Our pages include contributions from local, state and national officials; community leaders; influencers; and citizens from across Virginia — and can only be found in the RTD.
Regular contributors include RTD columnists Jeff E. Schapiro and Michael Paul Williams, as well as freelance writer Marsha Mercer, a longtime Washington-based reporter. Dr. Charles F. Bryan Jr., the president and CEO emeritus of the Virginia Historical Society, is a frequent writer in our Sunday Commentary section, including this week.
Syndicated columnists, such as George Will, Leonard Pitts and Salena Zito, provide national and global perspectives. We’re not wedded to a particular issue or ideology; we’re looking for diverse views and well-written columns.
A typical daily mix will feature a contributor op-ed and one of our regular columnists — examining local and state issues — along with a syndicated writer weighing in on a national or global topic.
Letters to the Editor are our daily town square, a forum for readers to express their views or respond to other columns, editorials or news articles. Because of the heavy volume, we can only publish a fraction of what we receive — and again, we do our best to make sure it reflects a cross section of opinion. We publish about six Letters every day. That includes a Correspondent of the Day, a writer who presents the day’s best-penned letter.
Additionally, the Your 2 Cents feature appears every Saturday, which allows readers to make pithy comments on whatever they wish in fewer than 50 words.
You also can follow us through our weekly Opinions newsletter (to sign up, go to: www.richmond.com/subscribe-email) or join the conversation on Twitter at: @RTDOpinions
RTD Opinions is committed to fact-based, reasoned opinion that shapes today’s conversation. We seek to be relevant, and offer our readers intellectually robust commentary. You help make that happen through your contributions.
— Pamela Stallsmith
