Changes will be coming to The Conversation
You may notice something missing from today’s Dispatch — the Opinion page.
That’s not an error or oversight. We intentionally left it out, but make no mistake, our conversation with you has just begun and opinions are alive and well.
Dispatch opinion is not going away, but it is changing.
Changes coming
Going forward, we will publish the opinion page in print Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and the Conversation section Sundays. Saturday’s pages will be printed in our e-edition only.
The Opinion page will no longer be printed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Subscribers can access the e-edition by going to our website and clicking on e-edition in the black navigation bar.
Fresh and timely letters to the editor and local opinion columns will continue to appear daily on Dispatch.com.
What will you get?
We can’t promise that you’ll agree with every opinion you read, but we will strive to select the most meaningful columns for you, our print readers. The goal is to expand understanding by presenting a range of ideas and multiple perspectives.
This change has been coming
I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of eliminating opinion print publication days for months.
The benefits: Our team will be able to focus more energy on researching, producing, curating and seeking out opinion columns and other content that meets the goals we developed last spring with community members on our board.
The mission printed on our page is bold: “Advocate for positive change and provide forums for conversations that move our community, state and nation forward.”
Still, it would be disingenuous to say that this move at this point in time was my idea.
As has been reported in a number of places, Gannett – the Dispatch’s parent company – has ended its opinion contracts with a list of subscription services that includes the Washington Post and the Tribune Company.
That decision does not impact our pages as much as other newspapers in the Gannett network. We get a healthy number of opinion submissions written by and for people from Columbus, our community, and elsewhere in Ohio.
As a result, we only occasionally used nationally syndicated columns like those produced by George Will and Leonard Pitts.
This is not a knock against those columnists.
They are great, and we will still use USA TODAY columnists like Ohioan Connie Schultz. But they can be found online on numerous sources and often don’t break down the local impact to our readers. Some also see them as polarizing figures.
Fact-based local opinion has far more value and fits better in our mission.
This as an opportunity to sharpen our focus on issues that impact residents of Columbus, central Ohio and the rest of the state - our community.
The Columbus Dispatch published its first edition July 1, 1871, and as our famous sign atop the newspaper’s former home in Downtown Columbus says, we remain Ohio’s Greatest Home Newspaper.
We take that title very seriously. The Opinion page and Sunday Conversation section must do a better job of keying in on what is important to readers here.
We can disagree with one another without fighting. We will continue to publish commentary that sparks productive conversations and debate.
We will build on efforts I began after taking over as opinion and community engagement editor more than a year ago.
Key efforts
● The recently expanded Sunday Conversation section will be focused to an even greater extent on topics — national and local — that impact your life.
● We will continue to publish columns and letters with a range of topics and perspectives daily online.
● The most impactful and/or interesting letters and columns from the bunch will make the print edition.
● There will be more emphasis on our monthly digital and print Columbus Conversation project. The virtual series has included town hall-style discussions on police-community relations, the affordable housing crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, child care and other topics. We hope to have our first in-person Columbus Conversation later this year.
● There will be more consistent interviews for our new Conversation podcast, “Then What Happened (bit.ly/thenwhathappenedpodcast).”
● One of our engagement goals is to hear from readers and help them share thoughts on critical issues to the community. Programs like “Dispatch on Tour” — in-person events where tips on how to get news and views in The Dispatch and on Dispatch.com — will grow.
● We are doubling down on efforts to expand and improve offerings from the Dispatch opinion team and our contributors and guest columnists.
The conversation is evolving to give you something better – and that’s a very good thing.
Amelia Robinson in the Columbus Dispatch’s opinion and community engagement editor. Send email to Arobinson@dispatch.com or contact her at @1Ameliarobinson on Twitter.