Most daily newspapers and some weeklies schedule meetings between their editorial staff and invited guests to explore an issue and determine whether it is of sufficient importance to the community to justify the newspaper taking a position and supporting it on the editorial page. Meetings do not always result in an editorial. Sometimes, the visitors will be invited to submit a guest editorial or a letter to the editor in lieu of a stand-alone editorial. Even if an editorial does not immediately result, editorial board meetings are an excellent way to bring attention to library issues and to build relationships with newspaper editors and staff.

The format of an editorial board meeting can vary widely, depending on the issue and on the newspaper itself. Some meetings are relaxed and informal with one or two editorial writers talking with the guests over coffee. Others are large with numerous reporters and editors attending. Newspapers’ approaches to these meetings vary greatly, but the purpose is the same — to evaluate the issue and decide if it warrants editorial support, and, if so, what position the newspaper should take. Therefore, it goes without saying that an editorial board meeting is a serious undertaking.

Requesting an Editorial Board Meeting

Begin by emailing the editorial page editor or the editor.  Ask for an editorial board meeting to talk about, for example, statewide library funding issues that are currently under discussion in the legislature or in the policy arena and how they impact your local library and community. Both of these points are very important: editors are interested in timely issues and on how their own readers may be affected. Your goals are:

• To garner the support of the newspaper’s editorial board as part of the campaign to generate attention to issues related to the state’s public, school, and academic libraries
• To communicate the key messages related to your library and/or local, state, or federal policy and legislative issues
• To encourage editorial page support for library issues (specifically, the one for which you scheduled the visit)

Roles and Preparation

The format of an editorial board meeting typically begins with brief introductions, followed by a presentation (10 minutes or so) by the group requesting the meeting. Questions and answers will follow and are usually, but not always, the longer portion of the meeting. Editorial board meetings rarely last more than an hour.

Ideally, have two or three people meet with an editorial board. Consider bringing two librarians with different roles (school and academic, for example). You might also include a key volunteer or local business representative who is a recognized supporter of your library.  Choose one participant to be the leader of the group. It is best to rehearse the meeting and decide who will respond to what kinds of questions ahead of time.

Tips on Participants’ Roles:

Librarian participants

• Should make the issues come alive by providing examples and anecdotes illustrating the importance of libraries and programs/services supported by state funding.

• Develop questions can serve as a guide to developing anecdotes. For instance:

“Policy Expert”

One person should be designated as the legislative or policy expert and be prepared to answer questions about the current state of policies that most affect libraries.

Note: One person should also be designated to take notes and to follow up on any questions that could not be answered in the meeting and other requests made by the editorial board.

The content of your editorial board meeting should emphasize your key messages!

Following the Meeting

Immediately following the meeting, send a handwritten thank you note to each of the editors and reporters who attended the meeting. If nothing appears in the paper in a week or two, send an email or place a follow-up call to ascertain whether they will be writing an editorial supporting your issue. If not, you can ask why and also whether they will print a guest editorial on the same issues. (Use this toolkit to develop a guest editorial, which should then be signed by a librarian or local leader in your community).

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