Having an opinion piece published can get your message out to a wide audience, help change narratives, and even affect policy change. Opinion writing has been a key element of the Wisconsin Farmers Union Rural Voices Project, and we’re teaming up with The Progressive Media Project to host an op-ed workshop that will give you the tools to lift up the issues that matter to you.
The Progressive Media Project conducts hands-on op-ed writing clinics for nonprofit groups and individuals. The goal is to empower people with important stories to share with the confidence and tools for writing successful op-eds and communicating their messages effectively. The Progressive Media Project will offer a virtual but hands-on training for WFU members at 2pm on Tuesday, December 1. It will last between 90 minutes and 2 hours. Thanks to the support of the Brico Fund in Milwaukee for encouraging climate change outreach, we are able to offer this clinic at no cost to WFU members. In order to provide the optimal workshop experience, participation is limited to about 20 people.
Members of The Progressive editorial staff will introduce the principles of op-ed writing and teach participants how to write their crucial first sentence. They will provide instruction on five kinds of op-eds and offer concrete writing tips, including how to construct an argument and write conclusions. Participants will begin work on their own op-ed and be provided with feedback.
After the workshop, participants are invited to pitch op-ed ideas to The Progressive and Wisconsin Farmers Union News or request editorial assistance before submitting your op-ed. In addition to providing editorial assistance, if it is a compelling op-ed of national interest The Progressive will publish it on our website, www.progressive.org, and distribute it via Tribune News Service. If it is of Wisconsin interest only The Progressive will distribute it to newspapers statewide. In October 2020 the Progressive Media Project distributed “Farmers Need More than Trump Money” by WFU’s own Danielle Endvick. It was picked up by 30+ media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune. These media outlets have a combined readership of over 4 million people!
In order to provide the optimal workshop experience, participation is limited to about 20 people. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please register by clicking the "Register for Evet" button in the upper righthand corner of this page. We will only be able to take the first 20 people who register.