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Tips for submitting your World Water Day op-ed

The op-ed is an opinion piece that is published opposite the editorial page, which features the views of the editorial staff of a newspaper. It is typically 700 to 800 words in length and is written in a persuasive style in which the writer attempts to convince the reader of an opinion. Click here to download a copy of the op-ed you may send to your local newspaper.

We recommend that you follow these steps to submit your op-ed to a local newspaper:

1. Find out if there are others pitching this op-ed in your community. This op-ed is being sent out to CUPE locals and Council of Canadians chapters in several communities across the country.

The following links will help you find contact information for local groups in your area:

Council of Canadians: www.canadians.org/chapters/
CUPE: cupe.ca/locations

Susan Howatt at the national office, would be happy to answer any questions you have about this.

2. Modify the op-ed to make it more relevant to readers in your community. Community papers in particular, give priority to local issues. The op-ed provided here is a general template to which you may add information about your local struggles faced by your community, and the activities organized by your group. Be sure to sign the op-ed with your name and the name of the organization you are representing (Council of Canadians or CUPE). Click here to download a copy of the op-ed you may send to your local newspaper.

3. Select a newspaper. Generally, you would not send the same op-ed to two newspapers with the same target audience. For example, if you are sending your op-ed to the Calgary Herald, do not send it to the Calgary Sun. Because this op-ed will be pitched to newspapers across the country, we encourage you to send it to a local daily or weekly rather than a national newspaper or magazine. A newspaper’s audience, reach or affinity towards your group or cause are factors that can help determine where you submit your piece.

4. Email or fax the op-ed to the opinion, comment or editorial pages editor. In some cases, the editor responsible for editorials also takes care of the opinion or comment section. In many big newspapers, the opinion page has its own editor. You might want to phone the newspaper to find who is responsible for op-eds. The attached list contains the contact people for major Canadian dailies.

5. Follow up by phone. Some editors do not like to receive follow-up phone calls, but it is generally a good idea to remind editors of your piece and let them know why you think it is important. Editors are generally very busy, so remember to keep your conversation short.

Example: I am a member of the Council of Canadians in … I emailed you an op ed yesterday about the Canada’s role in promoting water privatization in Canada and abroad, and what we are doing to stop the privatization of our water services here in … It is World Water Day on March 22 and we hope that you will be able to run the piece either on that day or during that week.

6. Be available for verification and edits. Once the paper decides to run your op-ed, an editor will contact you to inform you and verify that you are the source. You might also be required to provide further information or make minor adjustments to your piece.

7. Once your op-ed is published, please send a clipping by email or fax to your regional office.

Click here to download a copy of the op-ed you may send to your local newspaper.

For information about World Water Day, please contact Susan Howatt, The Council of Canadians’ national water campaigner at 613.233.4487 ext 239; 613.761.2482 (cell); showatt@canadians.org.

For help with submitting your op-ed to an appropriate newspaper, contact Meera Karunananthan, Council of Canadians media officer at  613.233.4487 ext 234; 613.795.8685 (cell); .

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updated March 6, 2008