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Op-ed writing and pitching for college students
The document serves as a guide on writing and pitching op-eds, detailing the differences between various opinion pieces and providing a structured approach for crafting a compelling argument. It emphasizes the importance of a unique perspective, timely relevance, and clear communication about the desired change. Additionally, it offers practical advice on submission practices and editorial guidelines to enhance the chances of publication.
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Op-ed writing and pitching for college students
- 1. Write and pitch powerfulop-eds 2016.01.14 Seattle University Sharon Pian Chan
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- 3. News Op-ed Report bothsides, write a balanced story. Report both sides, develop a position Topic benefits from neutral observer Topic benefits from your perspective
- 4. WHAT IS ANOP-ED?
- 5. ¡ Editorial: Theposition of the newspaper, always written by the editorial board. No byline. There is no such thing as a “guest editorial.” ¡ Staff or syndicated column: Opinion pieces written by staff or syndicated writers. Byline will say “staff column” or “syndicated column” ¡ Op-ed or Guest Column: Opinion pieces written by members of the community. Byline may say “Special to” or “Guest columnist.” ¡ Letters to the editor: Responses to previously published news or opinion articles
- 6. BY ANGELINA JOLIE,ACTRESS… …and daughter of a cancer victim
- 7. BY TAYLOR SWIFT… …musicianand businesswoman
- 8. AN OP-ED IS… Aknowledgeable argument
- 9. AN OP-ED ISNOT… ¡ Community news ¡ A progress report ¡ A news release ¡ A rant ¡ A response to a previously published article ¡ A fundraising letter
- 10. YOU ARE ALREADY ANEXPERT ¡You are uniquely authorized to write a guest column about something ¡Example: Do you wait tables? You have a unique opinion about it ¡What was Danielle’s expertise?
- 11. OP-ED IDEAS ¡News eventrelates to area of your expertise, experience ¡Secondary areas of expertise: your neighborhood, your background, your family life, your PT job
- 12. I keep seeingthe same thing. Two people sit down for dinner. They exchange pleasantries, order some drinks and pick their entrees. Then … silence. Shoshana Wineburg, “Smartphones turn dinner parties into strangers at a table”
- 13. MY face brokeout today. Not since the hormonal roller- coaster ride of high school have so many angry red marks marred my skin. I’m not surprised, though. Raffi Wineburg, “Millennials are not biology lab frogs – stop dissecting us”
- 14. Is money andconvenience more important than the long- term sustainability of the world we live in? I think not. Nicole Gaddie guest colum, “Why UW, Seattle U. should divest from fossil-fuel companies”
- 15. Our time inEthiopia has given us a perspective on being Americans with disabilities in a developing country, where the rights we take for granted don’t exist. Shandra Benito, Terhas Clark, “Why the U.S. needs to join the U.N. on disability rights”
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- 17. 4 QUESTIONS 1. Whatare you arguing for? 2. Why do people need to read about it right now? 3. What is your unique perspective/authority on it? 4. What change do you want to see?
- 18. OP-ED STRUCTURE ¡ Shortlede, ~100 words ¡ Main argument ¡ Research supporting argument ¡ Propose change ¡ Repeat main argument
- 19. ADVICE ON OP-ED WRITING ¡SeattleTimes op-ed guidelines: http://seati.ms/opedguide ¡Writing tips from Alex Lo, columnist for the South China Morning Post: http://bit.ly/n3conoped ¡Other submission guidelines: Just Google it
- 20. Avoid bad writing WashingtonPost Opinion’s list of 200 journalism cliches http://www.washingtonpost.com/ news/opinions/wp/2014/02/27/th e-outlook-list-of-things-we-do-not- say/
- 21. Bad pitches fromcollege students ¡ The Greek system is not all bad. My fraternity/sorority is doing a charity event. ¡ My political analysis of Syria. ¡ Why your Seattle Times story on XXX topic was terrible
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- 23. WHO PUBLISHES OP-EDS http://www.ccmc.org/sites/default/files/Top100o p-eds.pdf Easier •Medium •SeattleGlobalist Harder • Geekwire • Puget Sound Business Journal • National websites: Huffington Post Harder • Seattle Times • National newspapers
- 24. PITCHING: STAND OUT FROMTHE CROWD ¡ Read the submission guidelines and follow them ¡ Have an opinion and state it forcefully ¡ Be pleasantly persistent ¡ Explain why you are the best person to write this, in 200 words or fewer ¡ Include a headshot > 200 KB
- 25. MAKE AN OP-ED EDITORHAPPY ¡ Don’t submit to multiple publications at once ¡ Don’t demand to hear back the same day ¡ Don’t expect a commitment to publish on spec ¡ Don’t expect multiple rounds of editing and multiple last-minute changes ¡ Don’t call to double check whether we received it
- 26. REPEAT: You don’t haveto be Taylor Swift ….But it doesn’t hurt? Think about how to frame yourself to maximize your relevance and the likelihood of getting exposure
- 27. Email excerpt fromop-ed writer Arsalan Iftikhar @TheMuslimGuy: SOCIAL MEDIA COUNTS Please let me know when the article goes live and I will send out to my 30,000+ Facebook/Twitter followers… Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity...Hope to do it again soon J Yours, Arsalan
- 28. NO DOES NOT MEANNEVER. NO MEANS NOT RIGHT NOW.
- 29. SCREW IT. PUBLISH ITYOURSELF. Recommended reading: “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon http://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/
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- 31. THANK YOU! @sharonpianchan schan@seattletimes.com (206) 464-2958 PitchSeattle Times 1st person essays to: Caitlin Moran cmoran@seattletimes.com engagement editor