We’re improving the range of voices we have on New England Times Engage, and seeking regular contributors who would like to have their own column, as well as broadening the kinds of articles and letters.
New England Times Engage is an opinion and debate hub, intended to slowly bring back debate in the New England, and help to get our community to engage in heathy discussion again. With far too much of the local debate happening in the toxic environment on Facebook, we – along with the rest of society, this isn’t a New England specific thing – have forgotten how to discuss issues. And if we can’t find a way to civilly and respectfully have a debate, then serious issues are never dealt with or discussed.
To date, contributions to our opinion hub have been very traditional opinion pieces, letters to the editor, and short comments under 300 words, which we call a ‘quick word’.
We are now expanding this offering to include:
- Regular columns – whether it be a politician’s newsletter, a regular opinion writer, or an organisation or group who would like to make a regular contribution to debate and discourse, you can no have your own column – just email engage@netimes.com.au to start a discussion with our team about getting your own column.
- Tips and Tricks – one of the biggest demands we have from readers is for advice. And there’s lots of clever people who have lots of good advice on all kinds of things – maybe you’re a lawyer with tips on divorce, or a gardener with tips for taking care of your garden after the snow… whatever it is, you can now submit an advice piece for our tips and tricks section. Just use the existing submission form for opinion pieces, and select the ‘tips and tricks’ category.
Making it easier to comment
All articles on New England Times Engage are open for you to comment on, but it’s a bit of a hassle sometimes to log in and comment. So we are now publishing the best comments from Facebook to the post on the site for you. Simply reply to any post on the main New England Times page that begins with ‘On Engage Now:’ and your comment may be posted to the site.
Don’t want us to publish your comment? Then just put (NP) at the end of your comment or comment in the Engage Group instead.
Doesn’t have to be local
While news on New England Times is very much local news, our opinion hub is not. You can comment on anything you like. If you are part of a national organisation, let them know they can submit opinion pieces or letters to the editor to us and we will almost always publish it – if well written, genuinely contributes to debate and discussion, and complies with our submission guidelines.
Doesn’t have to be written
Not comfortable with writing? We understand. And we fully support people presenting their views by video, as long as they otherwise adhere to our submission guidelines. Our preference is that you upload the video to YouTube or other host, and just give us the link.
Got something on your mind? Go on then, engage. Submit your opinion piece, letter to the editor, or Quick Word now.