Times opinion editor
Kathleen Kingsbury has revealed that the term “op-ed” — in use for five decades at the newspaper — is little more than “clubby newspaper jargon” and essentially obsolete.
“Op-ed” has officially given way to “Guest Essay,” Ms. Kingsbury says.
But let us examine the loser here. “Op-ed” is actually short for “opposite editorial” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which also noted that the first known use of “op-ed” was in 1970. Alas, though. The term was doomed.
“It is a relic of an older age and an older print newspaper design,” Ms. Kingsbury said in an explanation titled “Why The New York Times is retiring the term ‘op-ed’,” which was published Monday.