Get to Know Us
OtherWords is a free editorial service published by the Institute for Policy Studies. Each week, we publish a package of op-eds and columns, plus an original cartoon, and distribute them to readers, editors, and publishers through our website and newsletter. Each year, hundreds of newspapers and websites reaching millions of readers use this work.
At no cost, we offer polished, fact checked, and accessibly written op-eds on a range of timely subjects from a diverse cast of contributors. In 2022, nearly 60 percent of our op-eds were authored by women, 40 percent by people of color, and 20 percent by younger writers.
We provide these commentaries to help our papers inform their readers on perspectives they won’t get elsewhere, and to free up their resources to focus on community coverage.
We often cover politics, policy, and social issues from a progressive perspective, but we’re strictly non-partisan. Our writers include a few regular columnists, issue experts from the Institute for Policy Studies and a dozen or so partner non-profits, and authentic voices in local communities.
OtherWords is edited by IPS communications director Peter Certo and distributed with help from the IPS communications team. Robin S.C. Griffin is our proofreader, and Caleb Crowder is our outreach and editorial assistant.
The views expressed in OtherWords commentaries do not necessarily reflect those of IPS or its board.
Use our work
Our op-eds and cartoons are completely free to read and re-publish. We encourage newspapers and online outlets to syndicate whatever they like from our website. All we ask is that you credit the author and include a simple attribution to OtherWords.org.
If you’re an editor, you can get our work straight off our website, or sign up for our newsletter to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. You can get more info at our Syndicate page.
We license our content through Creative Commons, using an “Attribution-No Derivatives Work” license. This allows others to share the content, but requires attribution and does not allow for derivative works (others may not alter, transform, or build upon the work). We believe this protects the interests of our writers while allowing for the maximum flexibility in distributing content.
(Please note: The Shutterstock or Getty images that accompany many of our pieces are not included by this license. They require separate licensing from those services.)
Get in Touch
We love to hear from editors who run our work. If you have questions or feedback about our work, or even just want to say hello and let us know you’re running our commentaries, please write to us at otherwords@ips-dc.org.
If you’re interested in writing for OtherWords, please check out the writer’s guidelines on our Submissions page.
Support Our Work
OtherWords is funded entirely by non-profit foundations and individual donors. We don’t take a dime from governments, corporate sponsors, or political parties or campaigns.
Like many media organizations, we want to empower readers to become better informed and more engaged citizens. We view our unique role as connecting heartland readers with perspectives and voices they might not otherwise get to hear.
We’d love your support for this work. Donate here!
