Op Ed

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Tour Opinion Matters: How to write an Op-Ed

If you’ve ever been moved to write an Op-Ed but aren’t sure where to start, how to make a strong argument on race, or how to get your piece published, this workshop is for you. Learn the basic but critical skills necessary for writing a strong opinion piece that makes into the paper.

Notes:

Your Opinion Matters

Frame

    * The bigger story that lives in people’s heads.
    * If the facts don’t match the frame, facts are discarded.
    * Explain the problem, who is responsible, how they’ve created the problem
          o “Compassionate Conservative”

What is a Message?

    * The specific argument we project.
          o     Short, simple, CONSTANT
          o     Point, Evidence, ELEGANCE.
          o     Tell the story: The frame, the message, the EVIDENCE

Evidence

    * The facts that prove your story.
          o Statistics
          o Case Studies
          o Personal Testimony/Anecdotes
          o Outcomes/Impacts
          o Expert Commentary

Resources:

Some sample op-eds from the Applied Research Center:

White Progressives Don't Get It by Rinku Sen

Road Blocks to Asylum by Tram Nguyen

The Inequality President by Rinku Sen

Schwarzenegger Fails to Level California's Playing Field
By Tammy Johnson

The deadline for introducing bills for the current legislative session passed last week, and the resolve of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators will soon be put to the test. If last year's record gives us anything to go by, bills that raise the state's fairness quotient will die quickly on the Governor's desk. Instead of creating a level playing field for all Californians as he promised to do, Schwarzenegger spent most of the year kicking sand in our eyes.

Before dismissing us as special interests, Schwarzenegger should take a closer look at the people who call California home. People of color comprise the state's majority and those numbers are growing. One out of three Californians is Latino. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of Asians and Pacific Islanders will increase by 26 percent, and the number of Blacks by 18 percent. One-quarter of the state is foreign born. Given these numbers, racial justice is an imperative that policy makers can no longer ignore.

It wasn't a pretty process, but the legislature did pass several bills last year that addressed issues of discrimination, racial profiling and access to opportunity. Ten bills in particular would have had a direct positive impact on communities of color. Schwarzenegger vetoed seven of them.

For example, gaining access to quality health care is no small matter for the state's 6.5 million uninsured, three out of four of whom are people of color. Despite this reality, Schwarzenegger terminated Senator Deborah Ortiz's Hospital Charity Care legislation with his veto pen. That bill would have protected the uninsured from unfair billing practices - there is evidence that although the uninsured comprise a tiny percentage of patients, their payments account for the vast majority of hospital profits. This bill would also have reduced payment amounts and established charity care programs for the poor.

Despite the support of five Assembly Republicans, Representative Leland Yee's (D-12) Language Access bill met a similar fate. That bill was of particular importance to the forty percent of Californians who speak a language other than English. It would have held state and local agencies accountable for meeting bilingual staffing requirements.

Schwarzenegger fabricated reasons for his vetoes. He said the bills were duplicative or unconstitutional, but even a basic reading would indicate how wrong he was. For instance, he claimed that Yee's bill was unnecessary because the State Personnel Board was doing its job in monitoring state agencies. But the Board's own audit on bilingual language access revealed that only two of the ten agencies were aware of bilingual requirements.

All things considered, it's clear that Arnold flunked on fairness. His excuses amount to nothing more than "the dog ate my homework."

He'll be tested again this year. Returning to the statehouse is a bill to increase the state's minimum wage. Signing this bill would provide much needed income to California's low-wage workforce, of which seventy-eight percent are people of color. Schwarzenegger will have another opportunity to protect the uninsured and low-income families from spiraling debt by signing a Hospital Charity Care bill into law. There are a number of other bills that fight discrimination and provide equal opportunity in jobs, health care, and education that will require gubernatorial muscle.
Being proactive about issues of race isn't just about doing what is fair, it's also becoming a political necessity. This is especially true given that half of California's Senate districts, and forty-five percent of Assembly districts already have people of color majorities. These numbers include key districts represented by Republicans. If the Governor truly wants to be a uniting force within the state, then he must sign bills that support the aspirations of all Californians.

***

The Keys to the Op-Ed Page: Good writing, good timing, good contacts

Publishing an op-ed is a priceless opportunity to get your message out and help sway public opinion - and public officials - to your side. But first you need a clear, concise, compelling op-ed that puts your message into play.

For tips that take the mystery out of the op-ed process, the SPIN Project turned to op-ed wizard Jeff Gillenkirk, a man who has forged an impressive career by applying his talents as a writer to movements to end the death penalty, promote workers' rights, and achieve social and economic justice.

Gillenkirk sums up the art of the op-ed in three steps: good writing, good timing and good contacts.

1. Good writing. Advocates often overlook the importance of a well-crafted argument because they are blinded by the "importance" of their organization's mission. But righteousness alone does not grow movements. Good writing allows you to connect with people who don't yet see your issue from your perspective.
0.    Grab readers at the outset with an engaging opening paragraph.
0.    Write in the active voice, with strong verbs, colorful images, anecdotes and personal stories that illustrate the issue in human terms.
0.    Craft your op-ed so that it leads to a solution. Problem-discussion-solution is the classic structure.
0.    Be cognizant of your audience. You are talking to regular folks, not your familiar base of loyal supporters.
0.    Remember: objective, yet controversial, material is most likely to be printed.

2. Good timing. Use a "hook" to help you insert your issue into the news cycle. Shamelessly exploit anything happening in the news.
0.    Decide on a hook. Write the op-ed and get sign-off from your Executive Director within a 2-3 day time-frame, faster if possible.
0.    Do a Pre-Submittal Pitch (PSP): Have the "author" (your ED, Board Member, or celebrity) call the op-ed page editor directly to quickly describe the column idea with the hook.
0.    Submit the op-ed within 12-24 hours after including any initial feedback from an editor.
0.    Follow up with assistant and op-ed editor 24-36 hours after submission. Mention why the column is important. Again, have the "author" make the call. Editors like to speak "equal to equal" rather than to your communications director.
0.    If you don't hear within 2-3 days, assume that it's dead and submit elsewhere. Be careful about multiple submissions, because most major dailies require exclusivity to print.

3. Good contacts. Chances are, you are one degree of separation from an editor at your local paper. Tap your social network to find out.
0.    Use your in-house resources, leverage your staff, expert allies, and Board of Directors to identify any contacts with editors.
0.    Find the names of editors on op-ed pages or on the paper's websites.
0.    Use a celebrity signer to break in to a paper - actor, athlete, author, national political figure. (Local elected officials rarely help, as politicians are always looking for a forum and newspapers are skeptical.)
0.    Call an ally organization that has published an op-ed previously. Ask them if they have advice for you, and ask the name of the op-ed editor or assistant editor they worked with at the paper.

A former speechwriter for New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Gillenkirk has composed and/or placed op-eds in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post, among other outlets. He is currently the Communications Director at the San Francisco Food Bank. For inspiration, see the op-ed section of Gillenkirk's website: www.yourmessage.org.

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