With broad, bipartisan public support, proven benefits and strong demand, Michigan should be working to expand access to high-quality afterschool experiences for every K-12 student in the state.
Guest Commentary
At Bridge, we believe in listening to voices from all over our state. Got something to say? Contact us and join the conversation (details below)
How to submit a Guest Commentary
What to know:
Bridge welcomes a diversity of voices and perspectives from readers on issues important to Michigan. Guest commentaries reflect the views of the author(s), and are independent of the nonpartisan, fact-driven reporting of Bridge’s newsroom staff.
Commentaries must be the author’s original work and preferably will not have appeared first in other publications. Bridge reserves the right to decline submissions at our discretion.
We reserve the right to edit commentary for grammar, clarity, brevity or to address legal or factual concerns. We may offer editing suggestions, but in the service of making your work more accessible, not to alter your views.
We do not pay for guest commentary.
Here are some guidelines:
- Columns are usually 500-700 words
- They generally focus on a Michigan topic or policy and should avoid ad hominem attacks
- The more direct, distinct and/or intimate your perspective, the more effective your column will be
- The best columns do more than identify problems; they also offer solutions and facts to back them up
- Please include a one- or two-sentence bio, including the writer’s organization or relevant background.
- Authors must show their work, by backing up facts with links to reports or studies
- Bridge does not publish self-promotional columns or candidate endorsements
- Send a good quality, large headshot of the writer(s) as an attachment
- We also ask that, in return for publishing a guest commentary, the author(s) and their organizations generously promote the link to the published column through your Facebook, Twitter and other social or professional networks.
That’s about it. Keep the writing clear, conversational and free of jargon, and sell our smart and receptive readership on the argument you are trying to make.
Who to contact:
Email your submission or idea to guestcommentary@bridgemi.com. Please briefly describe who you are and what you would like to say and put the words “guest commentary” in the email subject line.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Voting is crime prevention. How the polls advance public safety
I encourage friends and neighbors to consider public safety when determining their vote, not out of the fear any ads try to stir up, but out of an understanding of the comprehensive progress we have made and the critical investments we need to continue focusing on.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Confessions of a poll worker
If voters were familiar with the people, procedures and processes behind our elections, the skepticism we see in surveys would shrink considerably.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan’s road back to educational excellence begins before kindergarten
If we want stronger literacy rates, better math skills, higher graduation rates and a more skilled workforce, our strategy must begin long before children enter elementary school.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan ambulance services are stretched thin. RESCUE Act offers lifeline
Modernizing the payment system will not reverse every hospital closure or immediately resolve every workforce shortage. But it would address a financial pressure that is making it harder to sustain emergency-response capacity across Michigan.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan should enforce, not erase protections for students with disabilities
The department’s decision not to use a safeguard should not become the rationale for erasing it.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | ‘Pure Michigan’ fall at risk because of administration’s energy policies
There is a choice for all of us. We can keep doubling down on expensive, outdated energy, or we can build the reliable, affordable clean energy Michigan needs that will create good-paying jobs for the next generation of Michigan families.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan benefits from university research. Funding cuts hurt state
The authors are presidents of Michigan’s research institutions: Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Michigan State University; Richard J. Koubek, Michigan Technological University; Domenico Grasso, University of Michigan; and Richard A. Bierschbach, Wayne State University.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan’s education crisis is the civil rights issue of our lifetime
Michigan’s education crisis cannot be kicked down the road any longer. We can fix this, but we have to act now.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | The election story no one is telling
We should demand that our elections be accurate. We should ask tough questions when warranted. Accountability and scrutiny are strengths of our system, not challenges to overcome. But we also have to be willing to look at the process for ourselves.