As the editor of the New York Times’ editorial page, Oakes created the “op-ed” format for newspapers by inviting essays from writers outside the newspaper. His appreciation of non-traditional voices didn’t stop there: he also hired the paper’s first female and first black editorial writers. He also led the Times’ editorials against the Vietnam War, making it one of the first major newspapers to so openly oppose that war.
Oakes joined the Times in 1946 and continued to write for them until 1990 — well past his retirement. He meanwhile served various terms as a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Wilderness Society and the Nature Conservancy. Oakes died in New York on April 5 after a stroke. He was 87.