USA Today Op-Ed Submission and Contributor Content

Two different things get searched under the same name. One is a free submission to the USA Today Opinion desk. The other is a label the site puts on material its newsroom did not report.

They are not the same thing, they are not worth the same, and the difference is what you need before anyone sells you either.

The three things people call USA Today

Almost every conversation about getting into USA Today is really about one of three things.

• An op-ed or column. You write an argument, submit it free to the Opinion desk, and an editor decides. Nobody sells this.
• Contributor content. Material published on usatoday.com carrying a visible "Contributor Content" label, marking it as something other than staff journalism.
• Staff reporting. A USA Today journalist decides your story is worth covering, independently of you.

All three put the words USA Today next to your name. Only one of them is journalism about you, and only one of them can be bought.

How op-ed submission actually works

USA Today publishes its own instructions for submitting a column. Everything in this section comes from that page rather than from anyone's summary of it.

The Opinion section says it publishes analysis, argument and essays on a wide variety of subjects, and that it looks for timeliness pegged to news, persuasion pitched to the other side, new information, novel arguments, first-person experience, original reporting and expert knowledge.

The mechanics it sets out:

• Columns typically run 550 to 750 words.
• They should be pasted directly into an email and sent to theforum@usatoday.com, rather than attached as a file.
• Only pieces submitted exclusively to USA Today are accepted. Anything already published on a blog, on social media or anywhere else is out, as is material sent to several outlets at once.
• Include links as URLs to back up quotes and factual material, and identify anyone featured by their real, full name.
• Add a short biography, two sentences at most, to run at the end of the column.
• Disclose in detail any way you, or a business or institution you are associated with, stands to gain from the column. In most cases that disclosure should also appear in the piece or the bio.

Some things are ruled out entirely: open letters, class projects, and rebuttals to editorials and columns USA Today has already published, which belong in a letter to the editor rather than a full-length op-ed.

On what happens next, the page is candid. The volume of submissions means the desk cannot respond to everything, and if it is interested you will hear back within three business days. Columns are accepted for online publication and print is not guaranteed. Anything published can be used by the more than 100 other papers in the USA Today Network. Authors may post their column elsewhere 48 hours after it runs, with the Network holding exclusive rights for that first 48 hours and non-exclusive rights afterwards.

What contributor content is

Contributor content is a label, not a part of the newsroom. It appears on usatoday.com and it tells a reader the piece was not reported by USA Today journalists.

USA Today does not publish an explanation of what the label covers. When the consumer-protection site Mouse Print examined a labelled article in 2023 and asked the paper what the label meant and whether further disclosure was needed, it reported getting no answer.

What is on the record is the standard the newsroom sets for itself. The USA Today Network's published principles of ethical conduct state: "We will not blur the line between advertising and editorial content." The label exists so that line stays visible.

Treat it as what it is. It is not a scandal and it is not hidden. It means the piece sits outside staff journalism, and anyone who looks will see that. Our separate guide on what a contributor article is covers how these pieces differ from reported coverage.

What each one is worth

An op-ed is the best value of the three and costs nothing. It is earned media in the strict sense, because an editor read it and chose it. It carries your byline on a national opinion page, and the only thing standing between you and it is whether the argument is good enough and timely enough.

Contributor content is worth what a labelled, permanent, searchable page on a major domain is worth. That is not nothing. It ranks, it surfaces when somebody looks you up, and it says plainly what it is. What it does not carry is the judgement of a national newsroom, because no editor chose it on merit.

Staff reporting is worth more than either, and it is the one thing nobody can offer you on a timeline. A journalist decided independently that you mattered. That is exactly why it is not for sale.

How each one looks to a reader who checks

This is where most of the disappointment happens, so it is worth being blunt.

Someone who clicks your link sees the byline, the section and the label. An op-ed reads as your argument on the Opinion page. Contributor content reads as contributor content, because the label is right there. Staff reporting reads as a reporter writing about you.

The people most likely to check are the investors, journalists and buyers you most want to impress. So describe accurately what you have. "I wrote an op-ed for USA Today" is a strong sentence and a true one. Calling a labelled contributor piece a USA Today investigation is a sentence that collapses the moment anyone opens the link.

What an agency is really selling when it promises USA Today

If a provider offers USA Today with a price and a date attached, what is being sold is contributor content or advertising. It cannot be staff reporting and it cannot be the Opinion section, because neither of those belongs to anyone who could sell it.

Ask three questions before you pay. Which of the three am I buying. Will the published page carry a label. What happens if it does not run. A provider who answers all three plainly is worth talking to; one who stays vague on the first is selling the confusion rather than the placement.

Digital Networking Agency will say it directly: we cannot get anyone into the USA Today Opinion section on demand, and we will not take money to pretend otherwise. What we can do is help you build an argument worth submitting, and be specific about which route anything else goes through. If you want a straight answer on which one fits, talk to us, and our fuller breakdown of how to get featured in USA Today covers the other routes in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I send a USA Today op-ed?

USA Today's own submission page asks for columns to be pasted into the body of an email to theforum@usatoday.com, typically at 550 to 750 words, submitted exclusively to USA Today. It says you will hear back within three business days if the desk is interested.

Can you pay for a USA Today op-ed?

No. Submission is free and the decision belongs to the Opinion desk. Anyone charging for a guaranteed place in the Opinion section is charging for something they do not control.

Does contributor content say so on the page?

Yes. The label is visible to anyone reading the article, which is the whole point of it. Represent what you have accurately and the label costs you nothing. Overstate it and the label does the correcting for you.