Bill Safire, long-time conservative Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, wrote an excellent and humorous op-ed in 2005 that’s worth reading in these polarized times.

Check out “How to Read a Column.”

His advice includes:

• Never look for the story in the lede.
• Watch for repayment of favors. — Saw a lot of payback recently in reviews of
  Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor by Matthew Latimer.
• Cast aside any column about two subjects. (He’s got good reason for this.)

It’s good advice, too, for people trying to contribute articles to op-ed pages.