Write and pitch powerful op-eds

AAJA SF Media Access Workshop 03.29.2014Presented by Sharon Pian Chan

Pitching news vs. op-ed

News Op-edLess work. Reporter writes story.

More work. You write and pitch op-ed.

Less control. Reporter controls story.

More control. You shape your message.

Topic benefits from objective observer

Topic benefits from your perspective

What is an op-ed?

Editorial: The position 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

An op-ed is…

•A knowledgeable argument

An op-ed is not…

•Community news•A progress report•A news release•A rant•A response to a previously published article

You are already an expert

•You are uniquely authorized to write a guest column about something•Example: Are you an immigrant? You have a unique opinion about immigration reform

3 questions: A nonprofit litmus test

HeadDo you have an intellectual case to be made?

HeartDo you have an emotional case to be made?

ActionIs there something you want people to do?

Via Monica Ellenbaas of Youth Eastside Services in Bellevue, Wash.

Nonprofit op-ed ideas

•Secondary areas of expertise: your neighborhood, your constituency’s perspective on policy, nonprofit management•Help someone your nonprofit serves write/pitch an op-ed•Work with experts, notable guests

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Parents who hurt their children aren’t all monsters. I know. I was one of them.

Patty Duke guest column: “Compassion and hope for parents who abuse”

Patty Duke was the keynote speaker for nonprofit Childhaven’s annual luncheon. Childhaven pitched this guest column a month before the luncheon. The Seattle Times published it and highlighted the date of the event.

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Raising the minimum wage is an emotional issue. … We cannot achieve shared prosperity by passing a plan that puts nonprofits out of business.

Sylvia Fuerstenberg guest column: “How raising the minimum wage to $15 would hurt a nonprofit”

Sylvia Fuerstenberg runs a nonprofit that provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She wrote this op-ed to contribute her agency’s perspective to the debate about raising the minimum wage to $15 in Seattle.

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I’ve worked at the same fast-food restaurant for five years. In all that time, my hourly wage has risen 50 cents.

Fernando Cruz guest column: “Show respect for fast-food workers with sufficient pay”

A nonprofit that advocates for a higher minimum wage worked with a fast-food worker to write and pitch this guest column.

More tips for nonprofits•Recruit a writer to volunteer or to join your board: a public relations professional, public affairs consultant, journalist, former journalist•Check whether a PR firm does pro bono work• Join AAJA San Francisco as an associate member and attend events to build relationships: http://www.aaja.org/join-aaja/

Writing an op-ed

A good op-ed argues for ONE thing

1

Op-ed structure

Short lede, ~100 wordsMain

argument Research supporting your

argumentPropose solutions

Ending, kicker or call to action

Great advice on op-ed writing

•Seattle Times op-ed guidelines: http://seati.ms/opedguide•Writing tips from Alex Lo, columnist for the South China Morning Post: http://bit.ly/n3conoped•Chicago Tribune op-ed guidelines: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-manuscriptemail,0,7050649.customform

Pitching an op-ed

Who publishes op-edsEasier

• Local ethnic print publications• Hyperlocal websites: Patch.com

• Ethnic national websites• Business journals: San Francisco or San Jose Business News• National websites: Huffington Post

Harder

• Daily metropolitan newspapers• National newspapers

Where to submit• San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/submissions/• San Jose Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/

ci_13052520• Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/contact/• 8Asians.com:

http://www.8asians.com/write-for-8asians/• Everything else… just Google “how to submit an op ed

to XXX”

Pitching: Stand out from the 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

Make an op-ed editor happy

•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

Social media countsEmail excerpt from op-ed writer Arsalan Iftikhar @TheMuslimGuy:

“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 :)

Yours, Arsalan”

No does not mean never. No means not right now.

Screw it. Publish it yourself. Recommended reading: “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon http://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/

Replay this slideshow at:http://bit.ly/opedaajasf

Sharon Pian ChanAssociate Opinions Editor, Seattle TimesPhone: 206-464-2958Email: schan@seattletimes.comTwitter: @sharonpianchanWebsite: www.sharonpianchan.com