For more than a century, newspaper opinion sections have been used to influence lawmakers, community leaders, and the general public. Op-ed writing has been the heart of hundreds of legacy writers’ careers, such as the late Charles Krauthammer and longtime Washington Post columnist George Will.
But as news consumers tire of op-ed pages churning out redundant partisan drivel, Gannett is changing the model. The parent company of USA TODAY and 250 regional and local papers is slashing its opinion sections to improve the quality of dialogue and to prioritize local voices.
This means that politicians, business leaders, community activists, and everyday citizens are going to have to work harder to make their opinions worth publishing. Instead of repeating talking points from cable news or reacting to keyboard warriors on Twitter, people seeking to influence policies, laws, and voters will need to make their arguments more incisive, unique, and tailored to their target audiences.
This is a model that’s been in use at other media outlets for years. The Washington Post is a top-tier national media outlet, but it also has a robust local news and opinion division which focuses on the Washington, D.C. Metro area. Ruth Marcus, the paper’s Deputy Editorial Page Editor, told me that “Local Opinions is an important and continuing part of our opinions coverage.”
And as InsideNoVa publisher Bruce Potter – who runs a series of independent regional media outlets, and declined to comment on Gannett’s decision – put it to me about his company’s years-long local focus: “If readers want to read opinions about Roe v. Wade, they have plenty of other sources to turn to.”
For would-be opinion shapers, there are three ways to take advantage of Gannett’s decision to put readers first:
1. Make sure your issue matters to readers. General political opinionating is now more likely to be rejected, so it’s important to either tie a national hook to local/regional readers, or tie a local/regional hook to a national trend.
For example, during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, my firm worked with a healthcare policy group that wanted policymakers to make emergency licensing and telemedicine policies permanent. The pandemic was the national trend; the statewide news hook were the specifics of emergency policies, and bills which had been introduced to make those policies permanent.
2. Treat readers like intelligent people who can come to their own conclusions. You probably know a lot more about taxes, Medicare, or immigration than your reader; help them see what you know, give them reasons to care, and provide action items for them to make change.
Don’t talk down to people. It’s a great way to be seen as the typically arrogant political writer who knows nothing about people’s problems in the real world.
3. Be unique and counter-intuitive, using messages, data, and stories that stand out. This is really hard; but with our national discourse in the gutter, it’s incumbent upon you to be part of the solution. A few great pieces which are successfully published are more valuable for your position than a bunch of mediocre pieces which get rejected.
A pregnancy resource center, for example, can counter supporters of legalized abortion about the downsides of Roe v. Wade being overturned by sharing stories about the women and children it has helped thrive despite difficult circumstances. Success and positivity will stand out; and the pregnancy resource center will be uniquely able to share its stories and message.
Student loans are another example which are in the national spotlight but have significant local and regional implications across the country. While everyone else fights about student loan forgiveness, the unique local piece could focus on how the local high school’s Career & Technical Education program benefits employers, families, and recent graduates. You could sing the praises of the value of the region’s community colleges, or demonstrate how to think about the value of student debt when compared to long-term earning potential.
Partisan talking points abound at hundreds of media companies and tens of thousands of social media accounts. But Sean McCabe, a partner at the public relations firm Pinkston, told me that “op-eds remain an important vehicle for thought leaders to weigh in on critical issues. With all the noise in the news and on social media today, it is important to have fresh and unfiltered perspectives expressed in the public square."
Gannett’s decision makes participating in the public square harder. But as the cable news/social media business model drives out political discourse into the ground, Gannett’s reader-friendly model of opinionating that may actually improve readers’ knowledge and create discourse which educates instead of alienates.
Dustin Siggins is founder of Proven Media Solutions.