Nuts & Bolts
Business of Freelance

Win Over With Opinion Editorials

By Sarah Massey, WIW Member

Persuasion is an industry in Washington, D.C., with writers greasing the wheels as they connect ideas to action. Interests all over the political spectrum demand engaging, pithy public relations copy to win the hearts and minds of the public and their elected representatives. Media slogans, press releases, advertising copy, protest chants, speeches and opinion editorials exemplify the variety of writing in demand. Persuasive writing can be a rewarding enterprise both for the paycheck and the experience of crafting messages that move public policy.

For advocates, policy makers and elected officials, the opinion editorial offers a significant platform to articulate and argue their positions. Opinion columns, landing on the editorial pages of newspapers, offer free space to present a position often without the balance of the opposing side. They may be solicited by the opinion page editor or pitched by the author. Like speech writing, ghostwriters are commonly used for opinion editorials. The professional writer's role is to translate goals into understandable language that makes the reader want to do something about them. A successful opinion editorial communicates to the reader what the problem is, how it can be solved and what they can do about it, while being entertaining and newsworthy.  

The first step for putting together an opinion editorial is to establish who has the power to solve the issues that the author champions. People with power could be voters, shoppers or elected officials. Invariably, advocates espouse the idea that public awareness must be raised. Influencing the public is too broad a goal for an opinion editorial. With digging, a power broker will be found. For example, who can make the public health system better for low-income families? Is it a state legislator who has not yet stated a public position?

Choose the newspaper the decision-maker reads. While it's truly exciting to run an opinion in The New York Times , the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal , unless the author is a Noble Prize Laureate or a member of the president's cabinet (or ghost-writing for one), the editors of these newspapers will not seek an opinion. If the goal is to fight unrestrained gentrification and the dearth of affordable housing in Washington, D.C., the piece should run on opinion pages at the City Paper and the Dupont Current.    

With a target publication in mind, craft a lead to the piece. The hooks for opinion editorials mirror news stories. Trends, personal stories, controversy and anniversaries are natural introductions. April 15, tax day, is a good day to place an opinion editorial on tax cuts for the wealthy. Personal narratives make for compelling reading. The plight or experience of the individual is symbolic of a trend or larger experience.  

Opinion editorials argue for a perspective and ask the reader to agree and take action. Describing the problem and solution is where the hard work gets done. The story you lay out needs to compel change. Write with clarity about what is at the heart of the issue. For example, homelessness is a complex problem that can be described from a thousand angles. If personal responsibility is the message, will the reader see a way to help? Perhaps community members participating in a local center can solve the problem. As the writer, you should offer a remedy that the reader has feeling for and use language that connects to a positive, even moral, answer. Then, shape the content to appeal to the power broker to be influenced. If the decision maker is the governor, present statewide facts. Avoid jargon or rhetoric.

Take improving unemployment insurance in Ohio as an example. Increasing and extending unemployment benefits during mass layoffs buttresses against economic instability and spurs micro-economic development. In other words, unemployment checks help working families and their communities. Unemployment insurance is about fairness. For a hook, interview a steel worker whose plant closed and describe how hard it is to pay for groceries. While the economy rapidly shifts and companies pull up stakes and move abroad, the governor should do his part to make sure Ohioans can make ends meet.  

Lay out the problem and its answer with language that moves the reader and then bring it home with an action statement. It doesn't suffice to explain the issue and let the reader draw his or her own conclusion. A reader can mobilize voters, join a boycott and hold elected leaders accountable. Make it clear to readers what they can do about the problem: Buy a hybrid vehicle, donate time to charity or call Ohio's governor and tell him to increase unemployment insurance.

After doing the work of finding a hook, presenting the argument and laying out what the reader can do about the problem in about 800 words, put the piece down and let it rest. Come back to it later and see if a little literary magic can be added to it. Is there a place for humor? Can catchy phrases or slogans be sprinkled in? Pull from the literary tool-chest and use alliteration, senses, irony and specific description. In addition to informing and persuading, the piece should entertain. Remember, readers are bombarded with images and messages in today's media-saturated climate, and opinion editorials are competing for attention.

Call the opinion editor today!

Sarah Massey is a writer and media consultant who "places progressives in the press."   Sarah is writing a memoir about surviving the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.   See: www.sarahmassey.com