Everyone's got opinions, but not everyone has the chance to espouse them in writing in a 10,000-copy newspaper.
Opinion pieces are perhaps the most premiere real estate in a publication. The Cavalier Daily has several outlets for expressing thoughts: Columns run in the Opinion section, but also on news-gathering pages such as Sports and Life and occasionally on the weekly pages (this week, the Health & Science section strangely lead its page with one such piece).
Writing good opinion pieces can be a tough undertaking. Because their space is so coveted, writers of opinion must with each column justify why they are worthy of the column inches. It can be a frustrating hurdle to face, but it's an imperative one to scale. There are several things to keep in mind when writing (and editing) these kinds of pieces, and, with my space this week, I'd like to offer some pointers.
Where's the beef?
The most important part of any opinion piece, whether discussing the merits of a pay-for-print program or those of Coach Al Groh, is, simply, to state the point of the piece. Writers should declare this in a clear, concise manner as early as possible.
Anthony Dick's "The New Prohibition" (Oct. 20, Opinion section) gets right to the point by using an outside example to illustrate. He refers to a photo of newspaperman H.L. Mencken with a pint of beer during Prohibition and uses it to comment on the recent drug bust and the penalties faced by those involved with narcotics.His point?"No government has the right to tell a man he can't have a beer with breakfast." Mencken's beer is a symbol for a prohibited "particular brand of happiness." You may not agree with Dick's assertion that laws should apply only to the crimes that result from drug use rather than the use itself, but Dick writes a good case for his stance.
Opinion columnist Kimberly Liu last week approached the controversial "Ghettopoly" game that has riled many folks who claim that it is racist. Unfortunately, what I think is her real argument is buried in the middle of the piece. She points to the "classic confusion of race and class that pervades America" and infers that the game does not parody race, but class. This reader would have liked to have read more on this particular argument in regards to the game.
Opinion columns aren't the only pieces that need to have and bolster arguments. Columns on the Life page, though they inherently have more freedom than Opinion columns (as their purpose is more to entertain than convince) still must answer the what-is-the-point question. Life columns shouldn't just be meandering diatribes. With so many columns in the Life section (about five per week, sometimes more than one a day), coming up with something fresh can become difficult.
It's fine on occasion to write a column of a more personal note like Thursday's "A Night in D.C." by Andrew Smith, but it's not something that should be done on a regular basis, as we wouldn't want all Life column writers to follow suit and simply provide diaries each week. Again, the column needs to answer the what-is-the-point question. I'm not always sure of the answer for Life columns.
Other things to remember
Like all articles in the newspaper, opinion pieces need good openings.A good lede catches the attention of readers invites them to keep reading. Anthony Dick's use of H.L. Mencken mentioned above is good lede. He uses an example to lead to his argument and even does so in a relatively humorous way.
Writers of opinion shouldn't assume. Having attended the Florida State game, I was drawn in by the opening clause of Sports columnist Jason Wise's Monday piece until he says "one couldn't help but try to evaluate where our football program is in coach Groh's third year." Well, I was there, and I could help it. Wise need only replace the "one" with "I" to remedy the assumption.
In order to avoid the pitfalls of assuming, these writers need to back up their opinions with facts and talk to people who can give additional insight (and the writer of course can argue for or against such insight). Don't make the piece All About You. Give readers specific examples.
Lastly, remember your audience. The Cavalier Daily serves the University of Virginia community.Every article in the newspaper should pertain in some way to this audience. If writing on a national issue, show how it affects members of the audience. Do we really need three columns on the baseball playoffs up to a week after they've ended, especially since the Sports page did not cover them otherwise at all? Why was there an opinion piece on Fairfax County politics? I realize that many students come from Fairfax County (how many, I wished this article would have answered) but space on a piece that does not even mention our community seems wasted.
Emily Kane can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.)
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