I thought it might be helpful to talk about some of the questions we get about the opinion page. In general it’s the most misunderstood part of a newspaper, and most of that confusion comes from the many different angles that you, as a reader, are confronted with when you open that page.
We get a lot of questions about the opinion page. Why is almost everything on this page biased? Are these facts right? Are these the opinions of the newspaper? Of its readers? Who drew the cartoon? Who wrote the editorial? What’s the difference between a letter and an “As I See It?” Who decides what letters are published? Do you publish all the letters you receive?
In this post I’ll tackle a subject that causes the most confusion, the editorial.
The opinion page is meant to be the place where our readers can speak their mind about subjects of general interest. The newspaper uses it for the same purpose. The editorial appears in the upper lefthand corner. It’s the opinion of the newspaper on a given topic. Most of our editorials are on local matters, such as local government. When I say it’s the opinion of “the newspaper,” I need to explain what I mean by that.
The editorials express the opinion of the newspaper’s management. They are usually written by me. Those of you who know about The Daily News’ history know that we are part of a chain of newspapers that also owns The Salem News, Gloucester Daily Times and Eagle-Tribune. We have close connections to these papers, and sometimes we publish editorials on regional or national matters that are written by them. There are often times when we disagree with their opinions, and in those situations we march to the beat of our own drummer. For instance, The Daily News endorsed Barack Obama, and The Eagle-Tribune endorsed John McCain.
Why do we write editorials? Our goal is to offer suggestions and opinions that we feel are valid and will help put some perspective on the issue at hand. We support, or criticize, actions taken by our local leaders. We endorse political candidates who we feel are best suited for the job. We are strong advocates of open government and access to public documents. We like to find constructive solutions whenever possible. When we state our opinion, we don’t want to be “wishy-washy.” When we take a stand on an issue we strive to be clear.
Occasionally people ask me why an editorial is biased toward one side or the other. That’s the nature of an editorial – it’s an opinion. Oftentimes people disagree with our editorials. You’ll see letters that take us to task for our opinions. That’s an important part of the editorial page – it’s a place where people can argue and discuss matters.
Lastly, reporters don’t write editorials, nor do photographers. And typically, they don’t know what the editorial says until they read it on the morning that the paper is printed. Why? Because a reporter’s job is to gather the news and to give you both sides (and sometimes, there’s more than just two sides) to the story. Reporters are expected to be objective and professional, and so it would be wrong for them to cover the news and publish their opinion on it.
