Tucson is a diverse community and the Arizona Daily Star aims to provide coverage of issues that are of importance to, and help to enrich the lives of those who call this place home.
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Our opinion section is designed to encourage lively, civil and diverse community conversations on important issues of the day. The goal is to foster healthy engagement and debate on the best paths forward for the greater Tucson area.
We are committed to publishing a compelling mix of views and topics and wanted to share some insight into how we select guest opinions and letters to the editor, and what you can expect after you’ve submitted your piece.
Guest opinions
The Arizona Daily Star receives many guest column submissions each week and accepts a little more than a dozen for publication. When submitting a guest opinion, please consider the following:
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• We publish columns that offer views and perspectives on timely issues of interest to readers in the Tucson area and Southern Arizona. Columns that discuss national or international issues are a lower priority for publication.
•  We like new ideas. Tell us something we haven't already read from other writers or covered on other media.
• We like strong opinions that call for action. If your goal is publicity for an event or group, you should submit a press release to our news desk at metro@tucson.com.
• Send only your completed work, not drafts or content that is still being reviewed.
• Please include links to online sources so we can easily verify specific facts and figures.
• Be aware of limits on the length of submissions. A typical guest column is expected to be between 400 to 700 words long.
• Limit the number of authors per submission to no more than two.
• Guest opinions must be submitted at tucne.ws/guestopinion, our online form.
Not all submissions will be published, and we are only able to respond to those under consideration for publication to verify information or for clarification. We do not pay writers of published guest opinion pieces.
A lack of space in our print edition can result in submissions not being published.
The Star will not publish submissions for the following reasons:
• They are anonymous.
• They include copyrighted material or have been in other publications.
• They are potentially libelous. Libel is any malicious, unsubstantiated or untrue statement about someone that damages the person’s reputation.
• They include racist, sexist or discriminatory views.
• They include vulgar or profane language.
•  They use threatening language toward a person, group or organization.
Letters to the editors
If your guest opinion is not selected for publication, there is another avenue available. We publish hundreds of letters to the editor every month. Limit your submission to no more than 160 words to improve your chances for inclusion in our opinion section. Like guest opinions, we are unable to publish all letters to the editor.
Letters to the editor must be submitted through our online form at tucne.ws/adsletters.
We edit letters and guest opinions for length, clarity, accuracy and civility, but we will not change the thrust of a reader’s opinion.
We generally limit a letter writer from being published more than once per month in an effort to share a broader mix of community voices.
If you’ve never submitted a guest opinion or letter to the editor but are moved to do so by something you’ve read in the Star or on Tucson.com, please do so.
We also invite you to share your thoughts if you have expertise on a newsworthy topic and want to lend your insight, or if you’re aware of something affecting our community.
If you are a regular contributor or reader of our opinion section, we thank you.
