Editorial Columnist Opportunity at Newsday!

We urge you all to take a chance at having a bigger voice by applying for the below opportunity at Newsday. If you have any questions, editorial board member, Anne Michaud has generously offered to be available to answer them. She can be reached at anne.michaud@newsday.com or 631-843-2902.

Good Luck!
The OpEd Project Team

Job Opening: Editorial Writer
Newsday’s editorial board has an opening for an editorial writer.This job requires an experienced journalist or public policy analyst able to produce on deadline fact-based opinions and state them clearly, cogently and engagingly. He or she will participate in daily board meetings and must be comfortable expressing strong views and when necessary, challenging consensus and putting forward well-argued dissents.
The writer will be expected to analyze fairly and comment insightfully on a broad range of issues influencing the lives of Newsday’s readers.
The editorial writer will work both independently and as a member of a team. He or she should be skilled in synthesizing viewpoints and concisely expressing the board’s opinion.
Understanding of and a background in finance and economics is essential.
To apply, contact: Maryann Skinner, AME – Editorial Administration, maryann.skinner@newsday.com.

Please note: This is an editorial columnist position, NOT an op-ed columnist position.  That means different things at different newspapers, but according to Newsday, in this case it means the opinions are unsigned, i.e., anonymous, and are a consensus of the editorial board, which includes editorial writers, editors and the publisher.  So, the job is not quite as open to individual expression as an op-ed column, but still powerfully influences public debate.

OEP Session/Happy Hour 6/19

Saturday was a great day here at the OpEd offices – we had a full day session with 17 fantastic women (myself included) and then followed our day with happy hour at the Ace Hotel.

Everybody around the table

Since I have only been here for three weeks, this was my first time attending a full session. Katherine Lanpher, with the help of Katie Orenstein, led us through the day – teaching us about our expertises and how best to express them, in both op-eds and life. It was really great – even though it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that when Katherine said “graph” she meant “paragraph” – who knew? I was one of the few people that came in in the morning with no idea of what I could or should write about, and I left with a head full of ideas.

Judy and Lori discuss an article with their group

Alexandra, Lee, and Tereza happily poring over an op-ed

After the session was over, it was time for happy hour. I talked with some of the ladies there and they had great things to say about the day:

- “It’s about understanding your voice; finding something really core in yourself. It’s so freaking powerful…incredibly important…affecting so many other aspects of my life…”

- “This has absolutely nothing to do with writing. Writing is the vehicle. This ain’t that. There’s no way you can fully participate and not be changed. It makes you own your shit…in a good way!”

They also shared some fun facts about themselves! I talked to Tereza about her ultra-fashionable wardrobe. “I do not wear black,” she said. A few years ago, she made the decision to clear her closet of everything black and now – “I can see combinations that I couldn’t see before. It’s the most liberating thing.” Lena told me about her debilitating fear of clowns. Danielle weighed in with her fear of inanimate objects that become animated. I wisely did not share my embarrassing fears of chimneys and cotton balls.

Kyra, Bridgett, and 2008 alum Christine show off their drinks and smiles at happy hour

Katie poses with Victoria, Bill, and a next generation OpEd opinionist

Mentor-Editor Laura, Danielle (still wearing her nametag), and alum Rafiq at happy hour

In all, it was a really fun day. I was able to meet and learn about 16 other amazing women and then got to have drinks and talk with many of them at happy hour. For all who came, it was great to meet you, let’s keep in touch, and good luck writing!

- Jordan

Intro/Have You Weighed In?

Hello. The new Social Media Intern, Jordan, here. For my first blog post, I wanted to take a little time to introduce myself, and then encourage you to weigh in on an extremely important current issue.

I am from Cambridge City, a small town in East-Central Indiana with a population of about 2,000. I am a senior at Oberlin College, where I am a History major and am working on minors in French, Jewish Studies, and Russian and East European Studies. I am passionate about AIDS research, human rights, and the environment. That last one is especially relevant now, with what is certainly one of the worst environmental disasters of our time - the BP oil spill.

Although many people are joining in this discussion and are representing many different perspectives, we want to highlight more women’s voices. I personally would like to hear from people with knowledge about the positives and consequences of oil as a fuel or political insight into the responses and actions of BP and President Obama from the past couple of weeks.

Here are a few different Op-Eds to get you thinking:

• OEP alum Christine Bader wrote a fun piece in the Christian Science Monitor titled “BP, Goldman Sachs, and Massey could learn a lot from ultimate frisbee” where she discusses government regulation of industries.
• In the Chicago Tribune, there’s an article about how “BP Bashing is getting a little out of control.”
• Columnist Anna Applebaum of the Washington Post wrote about the issues  behind President Obama’s “talking tough” in an article called “The Oil Spill isn’t Obama’s Katrina.”
• An article in the LA Times, “The gulf tragedy doesn’t negate the fact that oil is a green fuel,” discusses the use of oil rather than other fuels.
• And here’s an article from my hometown paper, the Palladium Item, about why the unrest about the oil spill is “Healthy in the Long Run”. Although I may not always agree with the spin on my local news (hardly ever, actually), I do agree that the oil spill has presented a greater opportunity for the search for alternative energy sources.

I’m glad to be here and I hope to read some of your insights!

We love it when our alums keep coming back!

OpEd Project alum Marcia Mayne stopped by the office before joining a follow-up workshop with OEP Mentor-Editor Katherine Lanpher on Tuesday.