Iowa Starting Line Opinion Editorial
Guidelines for Submission

Mission: Iowa Starting Line publishes opinion pieces that connect politics and policy to people’s lives—especially at the state and local level.

An essential part of our coverage and to democracy at-large is the opinions of our constituents, lawmakers, political action groups, labor unions, and local business owners. As such, we welcome opinion-editorials.

Please review these requirements carefully before submitting.

1. Focus

• Local first
  • Op-eds must focus on specific state or local politics.
  • Federal issues are welcome, but only if you clearly show their impact on Iowans. 
  • We will not publish pieces that address national politics in broad terms without local relevance.
• Make a clear point
  • Every op-ed must have a thesis: argue for a specific policy change, action, or offer a unique perspective.

Iowa Starting Line is pro-democracy. We support transparency, voting rights, civic participation, and accountable leadership. While we will consider endorsement opinions, we do not publish op-eds that are overtly self-promoting or serve as promotional pieces for individual politicians, campaigns, or political parties.

2. Evidence & Experience

• Data-driven submissions
  • Support key claims with credible, linked sources.
• Anecdotal submissions
  • Personal stories sans data are welcome, but your expertise or lived experience must be clearly demonstrated (e.g., professional background, community role, or a significant life event)

* If your submission does not meet these standards, we will return it for revision.

• Examples of reliable data sources include:
  • [U.S. Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/)
  • [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/) (state & metro data)
  • [KFF – State Health Data](https://www.kff.org/state-category/)
  • [National Conference of State Legislatures](https://www.ncsl.org/)
  • [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/)
  • State agencies, local universities, and nonpartisan research groups
• Any sources should be in the form of hyperlinks on relevant text, not footnotes or comments
• Op-eds should be opinionated but fact-based 
• Passion is encouraged, but accuracy is essential

3. Structure

• Length: 500–900 words.
• Headline: Provide a suggested headline (90 characters or less) 
  • Format is sentence case preceded by OPINION:
    • (example) OPINION: Republican Congress members from Iowa have abandoned their constituents
  • Should be clear, compelling, and concise. 
  • First-person expressions are allowed, even encouraged

4. Style

• Write for a general audience. 
  • Avoid insider jargon 
  • Spell out acronyms on first use (followed by the acronym), and afterwards, the abbreviation may be used 
    • Example: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Spell out states
  • Politicians
    • Title, Name, (Party-State)
    • Rep. John Smith (D-Iowa) or Sen. Jane Doe (R-Michigan)
  • Em dashes
    • Iowa Starting Line uses word—no space on either side—formatting
  • For mentions of the United States, Iowa Starting Line’s style is US — no periods
  • Numbers
    • Do not start a sentence with Arabic numerals (1-2-3, etc.); spell out
    • One through nine are spelled. Higher numbers are in Arabic numerals. High numbers above thousands should be a mix of digits and words, ex. 1 million, 30 billion, 5 trillion, etc.
  • Keep paragraphs short (2–4 sentences). This is an article, not an academic essay. 
  • We use the Oxford comma

5. Author Information

• Byline comes third after the headline and subhed: 
  • Format: Full name, city, and state
• Bottom of the editorial: 1–2 sentences on your background and why you’re writing on this issue. Note any affiliations. If you’re writing on behalf of an organization rather than your own name, provide an overview of the organization’s mission

6. Submission Process

• All entries should be submitted as a Google Doc. PDFs will not be accepted.
• Organizing Coordinator Lily Jackson serves as the liaison between the writer and the Iowa Starting Line editor
• Any edits will be made in “Track Changes” as suggestions and sent back to the writer for final approval or clarification
• Timing
  • All breaking news op-eds will be returned to the writer with edits within 24-72 hours of submission
  • Any evergreen or less timely opinions will be returned within 7-10 days with edits.
  • Publishing time after the first round of edits will depend on turnaround time from the writer

Iowa Starting Line will return drafts that do not:

• Make a clear point, personal connection, or recommendation
• Have a headline
• Include a biography or organization explanation
• Make arguments or share experience relevant to state or local issues—we are not writing for a national audience
• Contain hyperlinks or sources of data points for fact-checking
• Show evidence or personal expertise

To submit an op-ed, email a draft to [email protected] with IOWA OP-ED PITCH in the subject line.