Editorials and Op-Eds 101

Persuasive writing and why it matters for advertising and PR careers

Editorials: The Basics

• Authored by newspaper/magazine staff• Timely argument about newsworthy item• Reinforced by facts and evidence• Usually persuasive, often critical, sometimes

explanatory, rarely laudatory• Covers one topic – just one• Concerned with local, state, or national issue• Appears on editorial page as paper’s opinion

Florida can't afford to keep being cheap (Tampa Bay Times)

Gov. Rick Scott's opposition to increasing tuition at Florida's public universities and colleges reflects a lack of understanding about the poor financial state of higher education. The governor envisions education as a key to building a better Florida economy, yet he would rather be cheap and cut costs than invest to improve quality. Florida's average public university tuition of $5,626 is far below the tuitions that drew attention from President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address.

Editorial: Romney's budget numbers won't balance (USA Today)Mitt Romney rarely misses an opportunity to bash President Obama over the budget, and the president often makes himself a ripe target. He has presided over a deficit that has topped $1 trillion in each of the past three years, and he ducked a chance last year to embrace the sound recommendations of his own deficit commission

Restore a Homeless-Prevention Program (NYT)More than 40,000 homeless people now spend the night in New York City shelters. Three-quarters of those are families, including about 17,000 children. Those numbers are about to rise. The city announced last week that it will immediately end what was once a $140 million rent-subsidy program that has helped keep more than 10,000 households in apartments and out of shelters

Op-Eds: The Essentials

• Can be same as editorials: Timely, usually persuasive, reinforced by facts and evidence …

• Authored by guest contributor• Personal testimonial or story• New perspective or fresh insight• Not a letter to the editor• Eulogy, list, word sculpture, poem …• Lots more fun to write!

The Embrace of the ApeClive D. L. Wynne UF Professor of PsychologyOn Dec. 14, King Kong returns to the big screen. What is it about watching young women being ravished by oversized middle-aged gorillas that presses so many buttons?

The Etymology of “Schmooze” Diana BoxerUF Professor of Linguistics Casino Jack‖Abramoff is sullying the good schmooze. Nobody denies that schmoozing is at the heart of lobbying. But the term has acquired a bad rap, and this latest ethics debacle is a nail in the coffin for what used to denote something positive.

With Florida’s space future uncertain, small satellites offer big promise By Peggy Evanich and Rafael GuzmanUF Astronomy Department Forty years ago Tuesday, the astronauts aboard a stricken Apollo 13 famously reported, “Houston, we have a problem.” Though it is hardly life-threatening, Florida’s space industry today faces a quandary that is every bit as much about survival.

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Why bother?

• Influence political process and outcomes• Rally people behind a cause• Draw attention to an overlooked issue• Tell a personal story• Promote a book, cause, project or product• Reach and move people … same as advertising

and social media

Persuasive Editorial Writing: A How To

• Style like a news article• Simple words, short paragraphs• Plain, unadorned sentences• 500 – 750 words max• Catchy end and beginning • Third-person perspective

Editorial Writing: Part Two

• Format 1: Problem, solution• Format 2: Right opinion, wrong

opinion (or the reverse)• Drive home argument in conclusion• Tone is elevated, not petty

Florida needs its own CDC

Most Floridians already know all too well the dangers of animals and plants introduced from elsewhere on our shores.

Formosan termites have damaged thousands of South Florida homes. Water-sopping Melaleuca trees continue to drain the Everglades. Hundreds of invasive plants, insects and animals threaten our crops, pocketbooks and native flora and fauna.

Drawing on years of research and experience, federal and state officials have established effective control programs for many invasive species. That’s the good news.

The bad news is, we are not prepared to deal with more ominous threat already leaving its mark on the Sunshine State. This is the threat of new and reemerging diseases.

With its warm climate, huge number of visitors and intense trade with South America, Florida may be more at risk than any other state to this threat. Yet the state soon to become the third largest in the country has no centralized research and response capability. That’s why I’m urging the Florida Legislature to pass legislation in the upcoming session creating what might be called a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC for Florida. We’re calling it the Institute for Advanced Study of Emerging Pathogens at the University of Florida.

A banner day for gay rights(LA Times)What rational basis is there for telling same-sex couples they can't marry? Why … none, really, as the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wisely confirmed Tuesday by upholding a federal judge's decision that Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. There has to be a good reason for any law if it restricts the rights of a group of people who have long been the targets of bigotry. Proposition 8 never had such a reason. It was, rather, an ill-advised expression of bigotry that the court exposed.

Other Op-Ed Writing: A How To

• First-person narrative OK, even encouraged• 500-100 words• Personal experience OK• Personality encouraged• OK to be petty … but be funny!

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Persuasive Writing and Advertising/PR

• Brevity, succinctness, verve, all key to ad conceptualizing and copywriting

• Op-Eds part of the trade for PR professionals• Executives in all fields value quality writing• Media is changing, but

rhetorical/argumentative skills are eternal