1107 2nd Street, Suite 320 • Sacramento, CA 95814 916-443-5919 • 916-443-5924 fax • www.ccdaa.org

California Child DevelopmentAdministrators AssociationCCDAA

many voices

one message

CCDAA’sGuidetoWritinganOp-Ed

Anop-edisanopinionpiecewrittenbyanindividualwhoisnotanemployeeofthenewspaper.Submittingalettertotheeditorofyourlocalpaperisaquickandeasywaytoeducatemembersofyourcommunityaboutanissue.Op-edsareagreatadvocacytoolandawaytoraiseawarenessaboutchildren'sissues—ifpublished,theyarereadbydecisionmakers,opinionleadersandfellowcitizens.Legislatorsoftenpaycloseattentiontothelocalpapersintheirdistricttokeeptrackoftheirconstituents'viewsandconcerns.

Yourlocalnewspaperprobablyhasspecificguidelinesforsubmittingaletterpostedontheireditorialpage.Ifnot,calltheeditorialofficeandask.Followtheirproceduresexactly.Besure,whenyousigntheletter,toincludeyourfullnameandcontactinformation.Althoughthepaperwillonlyprintthenameofyourtown,theymayneedtocontactyouwithquestionsoreditsbeforethelettergoesintoprint.Afteryoumailoremailyourletter,callthepapertofindoutifitwasreceivedandwhenitwillbeprinted.

HerearesomequicktipsforwritinganeffectiveOp-Edpiece:

• Findoutthelengthrequirementsandsubmissiondeadlinesforop-edsforyourlocalnewspapers.Ingeneral,op-edsshouldrangefrom500-800words,buteachpaperhasdifferentrequirements.Keepyourmessageclear,concise,andontopic.Shorterlettersgetprintedandclearlywrittenlettersgetread.

• Provideaverybriefonetotwosentencebiographytogivereaderssomecontextandbackgroundshowinghowyouknowabouttheissue.(“IamtheexecutivedirectorofXYZChildCareandweprovidecareandservicestoover150childreninourcommunity..”)

• Statetheproblemandwhyyouareconcernedaboutit.Researchanystateorlocalissuesorstoriesthathaverecentlybeenpublishedconcerningtheissue.Youshouldrefertothesearticlestoshowtherelevanceoftheop-ed(suchas"Lastweek'sstoryabouttheproblemsthatmanylocalfamiliesfacewhentheydon’thavelicensedchildcarefortheirchildrenwhiletheygotoworkunderscorestheneedforqualitychildcareforeverychild…").

• Usestateandlocalstatisticsthroughouttheop-edtosupportyourpointofview.Includeyourpersonalstoryandprovidedetailsthatmakeitmorerealforthereader.

• Offerasolutiontotheissue,bothgeneralandspecific.• Wrapitupwithafinalstatementofwhythisissueissoimportant.Themorepersonalyoumakeit,

themorepowerful.• Oncetheop-ediswritten,youshouldsubmititonlineorviafax,whicheverwaythenewspaper

saysitpreferstobecontacted.Afewdaysafteryousubmitthepiece,followupwithaphonecalltoseeiftheyreceiveditandiftheymightbeinterestedinrunningit.