What Are the Editorial Pages All About?

A newspaper publishes its views on current events -- both local and national -- on its editorial pages. This is where editorials, unsigned commentary that reflects the collective position of the newspaper's editorial board, appear. Editorials are not news, but rather reasoned opinion based on facts. For example, editorials may criticize the performance of public officials such as the mayor, the police chief, or the local school board; conversely, editorials may praise others for their civic contributions. Whatever the topic, newspapers hope their editorials will raise the level of community discourse.

Two ways this occurs are familiar to any newspaper reader -- letters to the editor and op-ed articles. Letters are always among the best-read section of any newspaper, for this is where readers express their opinions. Some newspapers limit letters to a certain number of words -- 150, 250 or even 300 -- while others publish letters of virtually any length. Op-ed articles (a contraction of opposite-editorial page) usually run 850 to 1,000 words. Newspapers make space for letters to the editor and op-ed articles freely available as part of their contribution to civic dialogue.

The editorial pages are under the direction of an editor outside the news division. Newspaper people call this "separation of church and state," meaning there is a line between news and opinion that must not be crossed. To do so strips a newspaper of its most valuable asset -- credibility. For that reason, editorial page editors at some large newspapers report to the publisher, who is the chief executive officer of the company, and not to the executive editor. Other newspapers may have their editorial page editor reporting to the executive editor. Whatever the organizational model, though, neither department can tell the other what to publish in the newspaper.

Why Are Ads Important to a Newspaper?
The number of pages beyond a minimum that most newspapers set is is determined not by the news division, but by the amount of advertising sold for that day. (Regardless of advertising, however, newspapers add extra news pages for big local stories such as tornadoes, sports championships or other major events.) The advertising division places ads on pages before they are released to the news division. As a rule, newspapers print slightly more advertising than news. Ads may account for 60 percent or more of weekday pages, but in the larger Sunday edition, it is not unusual for news to take up more space than ads. The ratio of ads to news must be high because newspapers cannot stay in business without advertising revenue. Editors call the space left for them a "news hole." The advertising division and the news division have no influence over each other's content.

Three types of advertising dominate modern newspapers:

• Display ads -- With photos and graphics, display ads can cost thousands of dollars depending on their size. These ads, generally placed by department stores, movie theaters and other businesses, may be prepared by an advertising agency or the advertising department itself. They are called run-of-press ads and they produce the most revenue.
• Classified ads -- Classified ads, often called want ads, appear in a miniature typeface called agate. These ads come from individuals trying to buy or sell items, businesses seeking workers, or tradespeople offering a wide variety of services. "Classies" are affordable, popular and highly effective in reaching tens of thousands of potential customers.
• Inserts -- Inserts, the third form of advertising, are favored by large national chain stores like Best Buy and Circuit City. These colorful booklets are trucked to newspapers in huge bundles for distribution with the Sunday edition. Inserts produce less revenue than run-of-press advertising. Newspapers charge for distributing inserts, but otherwise have no control over their content or print quality.