Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 366 Journalism: Publishing Across Media The Shape of an Op-Ed Op-eds do not follow a set formula as do staff editorials, so journalists have more room for powerful language, narrative and creativity but also more potential to lose their audience or to bore them. Every word must count. It is good discipline to write your op-ed, then edit it down by 20 percent. A 1,000-word op-ed should be tightened to say the same thing in 800 words. The Opening Opening sentences in op-eds require strong writing. After all, you are not offering information but rather your opinion. If the opening is not strong, you will lose your audience in the fi rst inch or the fi rst 20 seconds. If your opening implies a problem, your audience should want to read to the end to see your insight or your solution. The opening needs to engage the audience and establish the subject and tone of the op-ed—serious, satiric, self-mocking, critical or refl ective. Scott Simon’s op-ed in Figure 12.4 engages the audience by contrasting the pleasant anticipation of a football game with the specter of serious injury to the players. I will watch the Super Bowl next weekend ... I expect to cheer, shout and have some guacamole. But as a fan, I’m fi nding it a little harder to cheer, especially for my favorite football and hockey players, without thinking: They’re hurting themselves. Not just breaks and sprains but dangerous, disabling brain damage. The Body The body of an op-ed may contain exposition—language that conveys information or provides an explanation—such as arguments, evidence, rebuttals of the opposing side, timelines and even bulleted lists. Note Scott Simon’s use of exposition in his op-ed on sports injuries. ... Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy ... determined that Mr. Duerson’s brain had been battered by at least 10 concussions and countless other football hits that may have caused dementia, addiction and depression that led to his death. The op-ed may also contain narrative (story) elements, such as the writer’s own experience or well-told (and well-verifi ed) stories from others. The narrative elements should be as tightly written and fast-paced as any piece of fi ction, with strong settings and real (not just real-seeming) characters. The dialogue needs to be both realistic and truthful. Narrative journalism has its own special dangers. Of course, stories should not be made up. But even true stories should not be fi ctionalized.