"Op-Ed" Articles

“Op-ed” articles, which typically run opposite a newspaper’s editorial page, are your opinions and comments on today’s news and current issues. They are your opportunity to “piggyback” on the news and are an important element of your personal public relations plan.

Once published, op-eds can be effectively used as reprints. Many newspapers publish as many “Letters to the Editor” as possible. Make yours brief—never longer than five paragraphs or about 500 words—and to the point. Some newspapers specify acceptable lengths. “The People’s Forum” in the News & Observer, for instance, is restricted to 200 words.

The op-ed article is your opportunity to affect a public debate or governmental policy and to improve matters in areas from health to education to the environment to politics. It can bring you considerable recognition and establish you as an expert in your field. But an op-ed must address an issue of interest to the average newspaper reader.

Put yourself in the place of the busy reader and ask yourself why the reader should care about your topic. Offer recommendations and a solution to the problem you are discussing. Urge the reader to take action. If possible, provide tools and information such as the date and time of a public meeting you want readers to attend, or the name and address of someone to whom readers should send letters of protest.

An op-ed is a rallying cry. Summarize your ideas in a strong final sentence or two, and be sure to include your contact information at the end.