The New York Times‘ opinion pages, known as the “Opinionator,” feature exclusive online commentary from several different contributors. The Opinionator is sectioned off into multiple series. Each series contains content dedicated to discussing a specific topic or subject. These blog series weekly publish commentary examining their given issue.
Snapshot taken from the opinion pages of the NYT. List of recent posts.
The Stone, as characterized in its online description, “features the writing of contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless.” Couch contains essays by psychotherapists, patients and others about different experiences and aspects in therapy, such as psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, marriage therapy, hypnotherapy and beyond. The Stone and Couch are two examples of the series the NYT features as destinations for opinions and commentary on specific topics. Some series have designated moderators who are experts in the discussion topic of their series. The series on the Opinionator welcome different ideas and issues to be discussed on one forum.
Snapshot taken from the NYT opinion pages. Sections of the Opinionator.
The Opinionator provides a platform for commentary on subjects that people of various backgrounds are interested in reading. Currently, the Opinionator has a handful of running series and regular contributors. However, this section of the paper has room to grow in that more topics can be covered by creating more series for readers to explore and enjoy. The Opinionator is also a lot less visually engaging than the other sections of the Times. Although this is the opinion section of the paper, it would be beneficial to include multimedia elements, even just related photographs or images, throughout the commentary to enhance readers’ experiences of the content. As of now, the opinion section is mainly bland text. Although each series features strong content, the opinion column does not match up to the more multimedia-oriented sections of the paper.
Snapshot taken from the NYT opinion pages. Recent post from the “Anxiety” series on the Opinionator.
Sarah E. McCullough 