ABSTRACT
John Oakes became an editorial writer at the New York Times in 1949. From 1961 to 1976
he was editor of the editorial page. Besides developing the concept of the op-ed page,
now a common feature in newspapers around the country, Oakes changed the editorial
page voice of the Times. For years editorials had sounded like “the voice of a family
doctor” (Columbia University, 2006, p. 1), according to Robert McFadden, another
longtime New York Times writer. Oakes urged writers to take firm stands based on strong
reasoning and language. Oakes also developed an environmental column, which he
proposed after stepping down from running the editorial page. Editors at first wondered if
readers would have enough interest in the environment. This prompted Oakes to offer to
write it for free. It quickly became one of the most popular columns in the Times. Oakes
wrote in a voice similar to his editorial writers. He complained that the policies of James
Watt, then Interior Secretary, were “radical, inflationary, economically unsound and
environmentally degrading.” He also lamented the government’s failure to respond to the
threat of acid rain, which he called “aerial sewage.” He was not always critical: he
praised efforts to develop more public lands and parks (Columbia University, 2006).
