If you have been reading newspapers for a long time, like I have, you’re probably familiar with the difference between news pages and editorial pages. News stories, which appear on the front page and throughout the paper, are written by reporters who try to include all the relevant facts without offering their own opinions.
In addition, most newspapers, including The Columbian, usually offer one or more opinion pages. These pages often include an editorial that argues one side or another of a local or national issue, praises or scorns, or tries to analyze the arguments. There’s a political cartoon, and letters from readers that also state points of view. Finally, most opinion pages include one or more political columnists, who also advance a position. Sometimes these columns are written by experts on a subject.
But online it can be harder to tell what is offered as news and what is offered as opinion. Complicating matters is that many online consumers never developed the newspaper reading habit. They might not realize that an organization like The Columbian offers both.
So we are in the process of improving our labeling of opinion content. We want readers to be able to quickly and easily discern between our opinions, readers’ opinions (letters to the editor), and opinion columnists, and the difference between all of these and our news stories. Look for these labels to be introduced over the next several weeks.
