Examples of great opinion/editorial writing?

April 8, 2008 10:53 AM

Are there any great opinion/editorial writers out there that can be an example to an aspiring columnist? Books, websites, anything that I can read to help my writing get better in the op/ed capacity...

I'm currently publishing my own mixed martial arts blog that covers the sport as an opinion site, which is a niche in its own right. The market for such a blog is small, so my site has managed to grab about 20,000 hits per month, with about 200-300 regular daily readers and the rest hitting the site from referrals and google searches for fight videos and analysis.

My writing isn't exactly the best, but it isn't bad either. I mostly write articles revolving around current issues in the sport, and talk about my opinions on the matter. Since I'm more of an analytical person by nature (Computer Science, Masters), I'm more inclined to writing analytical pieces that revolve around stats, sources of data to support claims, etc.

I want some great examples of good opinion/ed writers, or books/websites that can help me become a better writer in general in that genre of writing. I feel that my style is too plain or scientific at times for most people.

posted by MMALR to writing & language (4 answers total)

Try this boxing blog.

http://mvn.com/boxing/2008/04/03/ending-a-semi-silence-on-mayweathers-superstardom-to-explain-why-his-superstardom-doesnt-matter/
posted by jenfu at 11:19 AM on April 8, 2008

Do you read the newspaper? Most major newspapers have a pretty good op/e section. The New York Times is my favorite.
posted by easy_being_green at 12:34 PM on April 8, 2008

In terms of providing some good advice on writing, I suggest this. The author is a columnist himself. I've found it to be very helpful in forcing my writing to the point and helping to clean it up.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:38 PM on April 8, 2008

I only read local newspapers as I can't afford the larger national ones, but I think I could find some major ones online to check out.
posted by MMALR at 10:01 AM on April 9, 2008