How to write Op Eds, By David Climenhaga

Writing Op-Eds
Writing op-ed submissions, opinion articles and
traditional newspaper columns – Nov. 8, 2014

Some key definitions
!   Op-ed: A newspaper’s opinion page, traditionally placed
opposite the editorial page, hence the name
!   Opinion articles: Articles giving an opinion or perspective
!   Op-ed submissions: Articles submitted for publication by non-
staff members
!   Columns: Regularly appearing articles giving an opinion or
perspective
!   Opinion pieces: A generic term to describe all three

3 versions of the same thing
!   Columns: Written regularly, usually on the same general
topic, usually by the same person, usually a
professional, usually paid, and usually worth reading
!   Opinion articles: Written irregularly, often on a variety
of topics, usually written by professionals, sometimes
worth reading
!   Op-ed submissions: Written occasionally, often by PR
pros of passionate advocates, submitted voluntarily,
usually unpaid, often pretty bad, sometimes terrible!

Why we’re here
!   This is the age of cheap: Mainstream newspapers and
online news sites rely on Op-Ed submissions from non-
employees to pad their columns
!   This is an era of opportunity: Newspapers and websites are
desperate for free copy
!   Ergo: Unions can take advantage of this sorry fact to
effectively advance their arguments

So, why write op-eds?
!   Free publicity
!   Opportunity to respond to unfair attacks, bad policies
!   Big audience
!   More credibility than union publications
!   Great play
!   Opportunities for re-use

What you need to know
!   There’s a formula … Go outside the box at the risk of not
getting published
!   Other considerations for you? Who are you speaking for?
Who gets a say in what you say?
!   You may have to “sell” it: To the publisher … but to
your side too
!   There are risks: everything you write will offend someone

Opinion articles are NOT…
!   Hard news: Timely reports of breaking news events
!   Soft news: News stories that use a delayed-lead structure
and may be longer, but are otherwise similar
!   Editorials: Expressions of the official viewpoint of a
publication
!   A way to make money!

Despite the formula…
!   Writing opinion pieces is more art than science
!   Some of us are bound to be better at it
!   But it’s not rocket science – practice will make you
better
!   Columns, opinion articles and op-ed pieces all have
essentially the same qualities in common
!   So read lots of them to get better

Questions
!   Which would you rather read – an op-ed, an opinion
article or a column?
!   Do any of you like to read columns by particular
writers? Who?
!   What, in your view, distinguishes the columns you like
from other opinion articles you don’t?

An axiom
!   Columns tend to be more entertaining because they’re
more likely to be written with passion by good writers
!   The structure of columns, opinion articles and op-eds
is essentially the same
!   The preferred length of all three is nowadays about the
same
!   So why not use columns as the model for your op-eds?

Features of successful columns
!   Clearly written and argued
!   Timely – they’re tired to current events and issues
!   They combine passion and reason
!   They have a beginning, middle & end
!   They always reach a conclusion

6 nitty-gritty steps to success
1)  Open with an attention grabbing lead (easier said than
done)
2)  State your argument high in the op-ed, back it up later
3)  Stick to a single point – don’t write about everything
4)  Briefly acknowledge alternative views – then demolish them
5)  End cleanly – propose a solution, make a prediction or state
a conclusion, don’t just peter out
6)  Keep it tight – 600 words, no more than 800

3 easy pieces
!   Beginning: That engaging lead, make it an “executive
summary” of your argument
!   Middle: Outlines the argument, presents facts and
figures, appeals to emotion, attacks opposing views and
makes use of traditional journalistic techniques such as
interviews, storytelling
!   End: Restates the argument, offers the solution,
prediction or conclusion

1. The Lead
!   Boredom is death: If the lead fails to engage, readers will run
!   No rules: Leads can be hard or soft, short or long,
conventional or weird
!   My advice, though: If you’re new to this, go for relatively hard
and keep it short
!   Sum up the argument to come: Why are we writing about this?
!   Move from specific to general: Describe a specific situation as a
dramatic and illustrative way to make a general point
!   Questions are allowed!

Recommended hard approach
The Conservatives didn’t invent the temporary foreign worker
program but they are now wearing it.
Under their watch the program has mushroomed and so have the
abuses. They have proved woefully unable to police the
program.
The program has also exposed the darkest instincts of too many
small Canadian businesses, the same businesses this
government claims to champion.
— Tim Harper, columnist, Toronto Star, April 23,2014

Classic situational lead
We slept last night in the enemy’s camp.
— Robert Ette, Memphis Daily Appeal, after the Battle of
Shiloh, April 8, 1862

Carol Goar opening summary
A casual lawlessness has crept into the high offices of the land.
It is not outright criminality, punishable by fines and jail time (at
least not yet). It is an attitude among those entrusted with
power that they don’t have to play by the rules; that
wrongdoing carries no consequences; and that a half-hearted
apology will set everything right.
Any Canadian could come up with half a dozen examples.
— Carol Goar, columnist, Toronto Star, May 1, 2014

Paul Krugman, summary
It is, in a way, too bad that Cliven Bundy – the rancher who
became a right-wing hero after refusing to pay fees for grazing
his animals on federal land, and bringing in armed men to
support his defiance – has turned out to be a crude racist.
Why? Because his ranting has given conservatives an easy out,
a way to dissociate themselves from his actions without facing
up to the terrible wrong turn their movement has taken.
— Paul Krugman, economics columnist, New York Times,
April 28, 2014

Paul Krugman, summary 2
This just in: Saving the planet would be cheap; it might even be
free. But will anyone believe the good news?
— Paul Krugman, economics columnist, New York Times,
Sept. 18, 2014

Op-ed opening summary
In the United States, people didn’t bury their heads in the sand when they
learned about the pervasiveness of government surveillance, they did
something.
According to a Harris Interactive poll, 47 per cent of American adults changed
their behaviour on learning about NSA spying. About 25 per cent said
they have decreased their online banking, shopping and email use, for
example.
Here in Canada, similar information was gathered by Canadian Journalists for
Free expression and Nanos Research. A strong majority, 60 per cent of
respondents, said they would do nothing if they suspected the government
was spying on them.
— Jesse Brown, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Toronto Star
Op-Ed, May 1, 2014

Boredom kills? Zzzzzzz…
This week, international and provincial leaders from science, policy, clean
technology, industry and government will gather in Edmonton for Zero
2014, a conference focused on driving the transition to a low-carbon
future.
— Chad Park, Executive Director, Natural Step Canada, Edmonton
Journal, April 14, 2014
For decades, nationalists in Quebec served as a model for many western
Canadians seeking greater leverage in federal politics. Now, perhaps, the
West can provide a model for Quebec as nationalists of all stripes rethink
the future in light of the Parti Quebecois’ pounding in the recent election
— Roger Gibbins, Senior Fellow, Canada West Foundation,
Edmonton Journal, April 28, 2014

Rick Salutin opening summary
There used to be another word for temporary foreign workers. They
were called immigrants. They did jobs that, we’re told,
Canadians now don’t want to do. That included mining,
assembly line manufacturing, construction and cleaning. They
did them with relative verve because they were en route to
being Canadians and so were their kids — especially the kids.
— Rick Salutin, Toronto Star columnist, May 1, 2014

2. The Argument
!   Make the argument high in the story
!   Make it no deeper than the second or third paragraph
… and paragraphs should be short!
!   Summarize the argument in no more than one or two
sentences
!   State the argument with passion

Heather Mallick, summary
Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau is popular. Why wouldn’t he be?
But what makes some politicians attractive and other repellent?
Trudeau is intelligent, humane and self-confident … H has his father’s
intellect and wit, while being more down to earth, and his mother’s
good looks and warmth. And the guy, a Montrealer, can wear a
suit.
Take every word over four letters in that paragraph and you have a list
of why the ruling Conservatives hate him. I didn’t put the word
“attractive” in there in case they fizzed with resentment and
exploded…
— Heather Mallick, Toronto Star columnist, Aug. 24, 2014

Sometimes it’s OK to be funny
Heather Mallick again …
“Perhaps it was Harper’s dead sociopathic eyes or the way he
campaigned with pre-selected audiences from behind a metal
fence. No. It was when people started to think of his hair as a
separate organ, like Dick Cheney’s heart which he basically
kept in a pocket, a living pulsing thing that would halve, leap
on you and clap both sides of your head if you poked it.”
WARNING: Humour is dangerous!

Bob Herbert column, a model
The markets are battered and job losses are skyrocketing, but even in the
midst of a national economic crisis, we should not lose sight of the
profound significance of this week and what it tells us about the
continuing promise of America.
Voters said no to incompetence and divisiveness and elbowed their way
past the blight of racism that has been such a barrier to progress for
so long. Barack Obama won the State of North Carolina, for
crying out loud. The national deserves to take a bow. This is not
the same place it used to be.
— Bob Herbert, former columnist, New York Times, Nov. 8,
2008

Bob Herbert breakdown
!   Language: Passionate and colourful
!   Length: 800 words (the number given to most newspaper
columnists)
!   First sentence: engaging and to the point – made me want to read
on
!   Argument: Stated clearly in the second paragraph, which also
happens to start with the second sentence
!   Already obvious: a great blend of passion and reason
!   Bob Herbert today: Not a columnist, alas, just another think-tank
fellow

3. Stick to the point
!   Any good opinion piece is about one topic, even if it’s
a broad one
!   Resist the temptation to digress
!   Eschew the urge to pile it on…
!   Maintain your focus
!   Remember … 600 words
!   Do as I say, not as I do!

Getting back to the argument
!   Summarizing the argument is not enough
!   Provide examples to support your claims
!   This is the place for backing up with facts and figures,
but don’t overdo it
!   But be sure your facts are facts! Research!
!   Reporting has a place in opinion
!   Good interviews can improve an opinion piece

Bob Herbert, 2008, continued
Election night brought a cascade of memories to Taylor Rogers,
who is 82 and still lives in Memphis, where he grew up. He
remembered a big crowd that jammed the Mason Temple in
Memphis on an April night 40 years ago.
“It was filled with people from wall to wall,” he said. “And it was
storming and raining outside.”
The men and women, nearly all of them black, were crushed
against one another as they listened, almost as one, to the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King give his final speech

Acknowledge alternative views
!   This is a rhetorical device … and it covers your ass
!   Be brief about it
!   Don’t give opponents a chance to say you don’t know what
you’re talking about
!   Anticipate objections, and deal with them
!   State their views your way – and knock ’em down
!   Turn them to make your point
!   Try not to be too obvious

Anticipating responses
… it was under Flaherty’s watch as finance minister that the latest cutbacks in
federal government funding to CBC occurred.
To point this out is not to deny Flaherty’s virtues as a human being. Those who
knew him say he was hard-working, loyal to his family and possessed of an
engaging personality. There is no evidence that I know of to suggest that
his motives were anything but public-spirited.
But he was also an integral part of a government determined to smash or
cripple much of what makes Canada a livable country.
His death is a reminder that good people can do bad things for the best of
motives. …
— Thomas Walkom, political columnist, Toronto Star, April 11, 2014

5. The Conclusion
!   End it cleanly with conviction
!   Propose a solution, or …
!   Make a prediction, or …
!   State your conclusions!
!   If it’s mean to be humourous, end it with a joke

Bob Herbert, conclusion
… We still have two wars to deal with and an economic crisis as
severe as any in decades. But we should take a moment to
recognize the stunning significance of this moment in history.
It’s worth a smile, a toast, a sigh, a tear.
America should be proud.
- 30 -

Keep it tight
!   Bob Herbert’s column is fewer than 800 words
!   Op-ed submissions are nowadays restricted to 600
words on major papers
!   So keep it to 600!
!   Why invite editing?
!   Better you make the cuts than they do – especially
nowadays
!   You know what’s really important

General advice on writing
!   Cast your arguments from the reader’s perspective – why you
should adopt this plan of mine
!   Don’t be afraid to criticize people and institutions you
disagree with
!   But keep it respectful – and be aware of defamation law
!   Use metaphor and analogy – but not too much!
!   Put people first – make arguments about people, not
numbers
!   Don’t be afraid of emotion

From the horse’s mouth
Lucinda Chodan, Editor-in-Chief, Montreal Gazette:
!   600 words
!   Be timely
!   Strategic lead time – two to three weeks
!   Don’t take rejection personally – try again
!   Don’t be needy
!   Find a champion

On champions & expertise
“You’d better have some expertise if you want to write about some
topics. Provincial politics are hard to write about, because
most media have in-house experts.”
“You’d better have some expertise. If you want to write about
Crimea, have a PhD in the subject.”
“Find hidden weaknesses to exploit. If you want to write about
Bluegrass music in Canada, copy the editor-in-chief!”

Questions to ask
!   Are you authorized to do this?
!   Do you really want to say this?
!   What is the potential downside?
!   Do you have to get it approved?
!   Whose name will it appear under? This may affect
voice and tone
!   Do you know you will lose some control when you
hand it over?

More thoughts
!   This isn’t news – there’s no need to sound like
everyone else
!   Why not sound like yourself? Say it your way
!   Tell them something about yourself – why they should
listen to you…
!   Keep your head if you disagree with the way your story
is edited

Getting it published
!   Do your homework
!   Be professional about requirements – find the protocol
for submissions and follow it
!   Find out the right person to send it to
!   Follow up – but not too much
!   Provide contact information

Reuse and recycle
!   If at first you don’t succeed, try again somewhere else
!   Do local versions
!   Do a letter-to-the-editor version summarizing key points
only
!   Do a longer version for your in-house publication
!   Try different editors

Any questions?
!   Thanks for listening…

How to write Op Eds, By David Climenhaga

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