How to write a letter to your local newspaper's Opinion Editor: Length – Most newspapers prefer to run opinion columns that are between 650 and 800 words, but they can be shorter. Protocol – Op-Eds should be sent to the Opinion Page editor’s email address after you’ve called to make certain the newspaper accepts submissions. After you’ve sent the Op-Ed, call again to make sure it’s been received. This is also a chance to educate your contact about why this topic is so important to readers. Opening anecdote – People like stories. Open with an anecdote about a patient’s struggle with pain or the dramatic change proper treatment made in that patient’s life.
Sample op-ed:
1 in 40 – SMA Could Affect You Dear Editor: The statistic is: 1 in 40 people carry the gene that causes SMA – Spinal Muscular Atrophy. That means that more than 7 million Americans are carriers of disease that most people have never heard about. I learned about SMA when …. (your personal story here in one paragraph). Here are a few quick facts. SMA is the leading genetic killer of children under the age of two. SMA is a degenerative disease that affects the voluntary muscles. Those that survive face a life watching as their muscles slowly fail leaving them unable to walk, crawl, sit-up or even swallow. It is a recessive disease – two parents who are both carriers of the gene that causes SMA have a one in four chance of passing the disease on to a child. SMA crosses all racial, ethnic, religious and gender boundaries and while it is primarily diagnosed in children it can affect people of any age. August is SMA awareness month and there is hope. Families of SMA, a grassroots organization of which I am a member, is funding drug development programs and clinical trials which may mean a treatment is on the horizon. The federal government is considering the addition of SMA as one of the recommended diseases for newborn screening. You are reading this article so that one more person knows about SMA. Awareness is the beginning. Sometimes it takes celebrities to bring a disease from the shadows out into the light. Sometimes it just takes the dedication of individuals to make a difference. To learn more about how you can help contact Families of SMA at 800-886-1762 or on the web www.curesma.org. We are working to help raise awareness and funding for research, education, advocacy and patient services. By increasing funding, we can help to unravel the mysteries of this disease and continue working toward effective treatments. By participating and donating, you can make a difference in a life. Together we will find a cure! One in 40 may seem like a big number, but it become very small when it touched our family.
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