April 14, 2024

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First Opinion Editor

I had the honor this week of talking with the fellows in this year's Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University. It's always invigorating to meet people who have stories — really good stories — to tell. The purpose of the meeting was to take a deep dive into writing and pitching opinion/perspective essays. I was joined by Eli Cahan, a pediatrician and investigative journalist who is helping Harvard Public Health expand its opinion platform.

Sessions like these always nudge me to revisit the question, "What makes a good op-ed?" Saying "I know it when I see one" doesn't cut the mustard. People want specifics.

Here are a few of the things Eli and I offered the fellows as answers to "What makes a good op-ed?"

A personal story that illustrates a bigger issue or pressing concern
An essay that radiates the urgency of a situation
A perspective on the news — and by "news" I mean something happening right now
A strong voice
A unique perspective and platform (think back to Angelina Jolie's 2013 essay in The New York Times about why she had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy after testing positive for the BrCa gene, which changed the conversation about this procedure).

The list could go on, but that's a decent starting point. STAT gets a slew of First Opinion submissions a week. Some are from luminaries, some are from people working in the biopharma or heath care trenches, some are from regular folks who have a great story to tell.

I'm eager to read your stories. Please send them to first.opinion@statnews.com. Your essay may one day be among the weekly entries in this newsletter.

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