Unit 6 analytical genres of print media: editorial, op-ed, column, lte

I. Editorial

An editorial is an opinion piece written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper or magazine.

Their purpose is to give the editor's opinion on the news published and to prove to the reader that it is the only correct one.

Like any publicistic writing editorial appeals not only to the reader's mind but to the feelings as well. Alongside emotionally neutral words there are colloquial words and expressions, slang, special terms.

Editorials in different newspapers vary in degree of emotional colouring.

Editorials are usually unsigned and may be supposed to reflect the opinion of the periodical. In the UK, these unsigned columns are known as leading articles. In major USA newspapers, such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe, editorials are classified under the heading opinion.

Editorials are characterised by:

- an objective explanation of the issue, especially complex issues;

- a timely news angle (current issues are examined);

- opinions from the opposing viewpoint that refute directly the same issues the writer addresses.

The s t r u c t u r e of the editorial is as follows:

- the introduction which states the problem for a target audience. It’s a thesis which is the foundation of the editorial. The thesis represents a clear stance the author takes on a particular subject;

- the body which expresses an opinion;

- the solution: offers a solution to the problem:

- the conclusion: emphasises the main issue.

There are the following t y p e s of editorials.

1. Editorials of argument and persuasion take a firm stand on a problem or condition. They attempt to persuade the reader to think the same way. This editorial often proposes a solution or advises taking some definite action.

2. Editorials of information and interpretation attempt to explain the meaning or significance of a situation or news event. There is a wide variety of editorials in this category, ranging from those which provide background information to those which identify issues.

3. Editorials of tribute, appreciation or commendation praise a person or an activity.

4. Editorials of entertainment have two categories. One is the short humourous treatment of a light topic. The second is a slightly satirical treatment of a serious subject. Satire is the use of sarcasm or keen wit to denounce abuses or follies. It ridicules or makes fun of a subject with the intent of improving it.

II. Op-ed

An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page (though often mistaken for opinion-editorial), is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper’s editorial board. These are different from editorials, which are usually unsigned and written by editorial board members.

Although standard editorial pages have been printed by newspapers for many centuries, the first modern op-ed page was created in 1921 by Herbert Bayard Swope of The New York Evening World. When he took over as editor in 1920, he realized that the page opposite the editorials was “a catchall for book reviews, society boilerplate, and obituaries.” He is quoted as writing:

“It occurred to me that nothing is more interesting than opinion when opinion is interesting, so I devised a method of cleaning off the page opposite the editorial, which became the most important in America… and thereon I decided to print opinions, ignoring facts.”