I am going to admit something right off the bat… I have commissioned far more op-eds than I’ve written. I probably deal with around one op-ed a day (we’re a big fan of them at the Express)! So, I thought I would dedicate this edition to pitching and writing them, from a journalist’s point of view… including my thoughts on AI-written pieces.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of op-eds, a quick plug: discounted tickets for our second Off the Record LIVE are now available with our early bird offer.
On 15 October in London, we’ll be bringing together senior political journalists and Westminster insiders to talk pitching, building relationships, the Budget and how “the lobby” works… followed by drinks, nibbles and networking.
Grab your discounted ticket here. You never know, maybe we’ll talk about op-eds too.
So, back to that topic!
An op-ed is an opinion article published by a newspaper or magazine that is written by an external contributor. It is usually pegged to a current event (which is key when pitching)! They’re a great way of getting your voice and expertise out into the world.
So…how long should they be? Should you write the whole op-ed before pitching it? What makes me commission one? What makes me ignore one?
Don’t write it all before pitching it. I often get sent fully written op-eds in an initial pitch. I would steer clear of doing this for a number of reasons but the main one is that it isn’t necessarily a very good use of your time. You could be writing about something that never sees the light of day if it isn’t commissioned. I’d suggest stringing together a few sentences with your argument and information about the author and putting that in an email to a journalist. Also, every publication has a different word count so you might write and pitch a 1,500-word article (which has happened to me) and then find out the publication wants 350 words instead.
Give me a reason to publish it now. This is probably one of the most important tips on this list. An opinion piece shouldn’t just be “here is what I think about X topic”. Give journalists a timely reason to run the piece. I often get op-ed pitches on topics that aren’t in the news agenda currently. Try to make sure the issue you’re writing about (or the person authoring it) is newsworthy. Sometimes the “who” can be as important as the “what”.
The author matters. I want to elaborate on a point I’ve made above. The author can matter. Not always, but sometimes. The person with the biggest job title isn’t automatically the best person to write an op-ed. Sometimes a person who has first-hand experience of an issue makes for a much better piece than a CEO. Pitch authors who genuinely have a point of view.