Our Advocacy Work
May 2nd, 2014
(The following op ed was published in the Globe and Mail‘s online edition yesterday to help launch #respectHER, a joint campaign of Equal Voice and Informed Opinions.) At least some of the audience’s weeping was laughter-induced. But it was hard to tell how much. At the front of the conference room, former B.C. cabinet minister, […]
read more...Parliament is still Mad Men territory for women
Improve your Writing
November 8th, 2013
Hanging out with teenagers can be an enlightening experience. Last week, I participated in a panel discussion convened by MediaSmarts, “Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy” and a repository of fabulous resources for teachers, parents and kids. The teenagers present from across Canada asked really smart questions, many of which betrayed both deep scepticism […]
read more...TL;DR – advice to ignore, but implications to heed
Improve your Writing
July 28th, 2013
I have no legal training or experience in the sex trade. No one would ever mistake me as a candidate for the corner office of a large corporation. I am not a celebrity and have never been pregnant. And yet in recent months, major daily newspapers have published my commentary about: a supreme court hearing […]
read more...Expert status less important than insightful context
Our Advocacy Work
June 16th, 2013
For a few years in the 1990s I had the enormous privilege of a regular column in the Vancouver Sun. Every week, I’d write 750 words on pretty much any topic I wanted, and the Sun (a broadsheet not affiliated with the tabloid chain) would disseminate it to hundreds of thousands of readers. That’s where […]
read more...Of privilege and prostitution
Improve your Writing
April 2nd, 2013
Will Dena McMartin’s recent op ed in the Regina Leader-Post help prevent a flooding disaster and save lives? It just might. And even if it doesn’t, the informed analysis of the University of Regina professor of environmental systems engineering offered citizens valuable and timely information about her city’s pending spring thaw. At the same time, its […]
read more...“It’s not about you”
Improve your Writing
August 30th, 2012
At our Informed Opinions Writing Compelling Commentary workshops, we ask participants to identify a news hook related to their thesis that will ensure editors view their op ed as timely and relevant. It helps to give them a reason to publish the commentary now, versus three weeks from now (which often translates to never.) Because […]
read more...Google delivers news hooks as they happen
Improve your Writing
August 23rd, 2012
Far too much research has already documented that when something goes wrong, women are highly inclined to blame the problem or setback on their own deficiencies. This tendency operates in stark contrast to men, who are more likely to blame external circumstances, regardless of the actual cause. There’s an upside to women’s default of accepting […]
read more...Most common errors made by aspiring op ed writers – part 2
Improve your Writing
August 9th, 2012
If you saw the following sentence at the start of a piece in your daily newspaper, would you keep reading? “You don’t see a lot of naked men in advertising.” Lots of people did — no thanks to me. The lede I’d originally placed at the top of an essay I wrote 20 years ago […]
read more...Don’t Bury the Lede!
Improve your Writing
July 29th, 2012
Whether you’re picked last for the ball team, get rebuffed on the first date, or fail to elicit a positive response from an editor, rejection stinks. That’s why Informed Opinions offers online editing feedback (free to our workshop participants, but available for a fee to others). We’ve found that many aspiring op ed writers – […]
read more...Most Common Errors Made by Aspiring Op Ed Writers – part 1
Our Advocacy Work
April 16th, 2012
Readers often overlook the byline of a story indicating the writer’s name, and although reading an article without knowing who wrote it will still leave you informed, when it comes to commentary, bylines can provide insights into what kind of world view or life experiences have influenced the opinions being expressed. As part of […]
read more...Calgary Herald Editorial Page Analysis – More Women’s Opinions Needed