Opinion piece

An editorial, leader (US), or leading article (UK) is an article in a newspaper or magazine that expresses the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher.

Editorial boards

The editorial board is a group of editors, usually at a print publication, who dictate the tone and direction that the publication's editorials will take. In much of the English-speaking world, editorials are typically not written by the regular reporters of the news organization, but are instead collectively authored by a group of individuals and published without bylines. In fact, most major newspapers have a strict policy of keeping "editorial" and "news" staffs separate. The editorial board of a newspaper will regularly convene to discuss and assign editorial tasks. If editorials are written by the board, then they generally represent the newspaper's official positions on the issues. Often however, there exist also one or more regular opinion columnists who present their own point of view. Most newspapers also utilize nationally syndicated columnists to supplement the content of their own opinion pages.

Editorial guidelines

Editorials are generally printed either on their own page of a newspaper or in a clearly marked-off column, and are always labeled as editorials (to avoid confusion with news coverage). They often address current events or public controversies. Generally, editorials fall into four broad types: news, policy, social, and special. When covering controversial topics such as election issues, some opinion page editors will run "dueling" editorials, with each staking out a respective side of the issue.

Many magazines also feature editorials, mainly by the editor or publisher of the publication. Additionally, most print publications feature an editorial, or letter from the editor, followed by a Letters to the Editor section. The American Society of Magazine Editors has developed a list of editorial guidelines, to which a majority of magazine editors commonly adhere.. Most editorial pieces take the form of an essay or thesis, using arguments to promote a point of view.

Structure of editorials

The editorial page of a newspaper is not about news. It is about personal views. Articles appearing on a newspaper's editorial pages represent the views of the newspaper's editor and/or it's editorial board.

Many print publications feature an editorial or 'letter from the editor', which is followed by 'letters to the editor' section where members of the public write in with comments on the editorials or articles in that publication. People write in from all over the world and a letter written by a person residing in Mumbai, for example, will go to the publication in Mumbai to which he’s written.

General opinion holds that the content of editorials needs to carry a message strong enough to eliminate the need for photos associated with the opinion expressed.

Most editorial pieces take the form of an essay or thesis, using arguments to promote a point of view. Newspapers often publish editorial pieces that are in line with their publication's editorial slants. However, dissenting opinions are often given space specifically to promote balance and discussion.

Requirements for article length varies according to each publication's guidelines, as do a number of other factors including style and topic.

Leading editorial pages

Arguably the most prominent liberal editorial page in the nation is that of the New York Times, which features liberal columnists Paul Krugman, Thomas Friedman, Frank Rich, Bob Herbert, Gail Collins,and Nicholas D. Kristof. For many years, former Richard Nixon speechwriter William Safire was the lone conservative columnist on the page. Following Safire's retirement, David Brooks was hired from the Weekly Standard to fill the "conservative seat." But in 2007, the Times surprised (and angered) many of its politically liberal readers by adding a second conservative, William Kristol, also of the Weekly Standard, as a columnist.

The Wall Street Journal has long been the country's most influential conservative editorial page. Under the longtime leadership of Robert L. Bartley from 1971 to 2001, the page won a number of Pulitzer Prizes. Its columnists include Deputy Editorial Page Editor Daniel Henninger, who writes the "Wonder Land" column on national issues, Kimberly Strassel, who writes the "Potomac Watch" column from Washington, DC, and Mary Anastasia O'Grady on Latin American issues. It is edited by Paul Gigot and also publishes the online site, Opinion Journal. It is also the only major editorial board in the nation with its own television program, Journal Editorial Report, which formerly appeared on Public Broadcasting System stations, but now runs on the Fox News Channel.

The Washington Post editorial page is liberal, though more middle-of-the-road than that of the New York Times. Its opinion page features opinion columnists Charles Krauthammer, David Ignatius, and E. J. Dionne among others.

See also

• Column (newspaper)
• Editing
• Editorial board
• Editorial cartoons
• Editorial page
• Historical editorial
• Op-ed

External links

• DailyOpEd.com Read and search over 100+ major newspaper Op-eds
• Who Comments? - profiles of columnists and commentators in the UK press along with indexing of the subjects they write about.
• Photojournalism v.s. Editorializing Press Watchdog Organization