Rosemary Goudreau

Rosemary Goudreau’s visit to our Critical Writing class was eye opening. She joined us to discuss editorial writing and what made her successful throughout her career.

Goudreau, a University of Florida graduate started her career as a reporter. She worked for an array of papers in Florida and was also the managing editor for the Cincinnati Enquirer. It was there that she learned that editorial writers can have a very big and positive impact on a community and editorial writers can promote change.

From Goudreau, I learned that the best editorial writer will find community issues that strike them, and write with a sense of passion. “A great editorial has something to say.” Words can be a very powerful tool as many of us have noticed recently with President Barack Obama wooing the nation. But while a reporters can tell a story for what it is, an editorial writer has to look beyond the facts. They need to find the color and spark that will motivate people of the community to care about the issue and do something about it. "Give them a reason to agree or disagree," said Goudreau. Along with that advice, Professor Thelen says the best editorials will make you think about the subject in a way you have not thought about it. If the reader can say "huh, never thought about that," than the editorial was a success.

The best advice I took away from Goudreau’s visit was, “talk to someone you know, about something you really care about.” That seems like a rule I can, and should follow.

But I also had very strong feeling while listening to our guest. Professor Thelen told the class not to use “I.” Goudreau said “it is not the “I” voice but instead it is the institutional voice," which she did admit could be pretty stuffy and dry. As an editorial writer you represent the editorial board, their views and opinions. Usually those ideas have the community’s interest at heart but even with the community in mind the boards opinion and your personal opinion could be very different and it does not matter you still must write what the board thinks. After listening to Goudreau stress that point, I learned that I do not want to be an editorial writer. When I have a strong opinion about something, the last thing I would want to do is write something I don't completely agree with and can't attribute to someone else especially if the piece can promote an action from the community. Just like the readers, I don’t like being told what to think, so I would definitely not be a good fit to represent the board.

But learning how to write a good editorial goes far beyond journalism. In fact, Rosemary Goudreau says it is important because it teaches you how to "communicate with creativity and precision."