From the editor’s desk: A new approach
By Pat Caldwell
Saturday, August 22, 2009 11:23 PM PDT
The Argus Observer has showcased an editorial board for a long time, but it has always been narrowly focused on participation from the newsroom.
For example, for a long time now, the individuals framing the arguments have included myself, the publisher and one or two members from the newsroom.
That method worked pretty well, but we’ve always lacked another element — reader participation — that makes such a board so much more versatile.
A couple of questions are always pertinent regarding editorial boards, including: What are they, what method works best and why is this important?
Most newspapers (but not all, of course) use an editorial board to help frame, debate and then decide on opinions, or editorials.
At the Argus Observer, our editorials are printed in the left hand corner on Page A4 under the banner “Our Opinion.”
Editorial boards perform a simple mission for newspapers. They meet on a regular basis to debate the latest news and then decide what, if any, opinion the paper has on those subjects.
When the editorial, or opinion, appears in the paper, it is commonly considered the institutional opinion of the paper.
Editorials are different from columns. For example, I write a column once a week, but my thoughts and observations may or may not be in line with what the newspaper believes.
That’s my First Amendment right. The key difference is that, by virtue of being the editor, I have a more accessible outlet for my opinions, but when I write a column, it is just that: a personal opinion.
Editorials are a different animal altogether.
There are essentially two ways newspapers put together editorials. Both include a board.
At some newspapers, the editorial board consists of members of the paper — usually the publisher, editor and a few others.
Other newspapers use the editor, publisher, a few members of the newspaper staff and then one or two readers.
We’ve decided to incorporate both methods at the Argus Observer.
We’ve expanded our existing editorial board to include two new members, a resident from Idaho and one from Oregon.
Ontario resident Ken Hart along with New Plymouth homeowner Jeanette Meyer will now be part of our existing editorial board and will, at least in the short-term, help us frame our Sunday opinion piece beginning next week.
Now, our editorial board will consist of Argus Observer Publisher John Dillon, myself, News Editor Jessica Keller, Hart and Meyer.
Eventually, of course, we want to be at a place where the expanded editorial board is producing opinion pieces for every day of the week, but, for now, we are concentrating only on Sunday.
What about the rest of the week? Who will do the editorials then? Good questions. During the rest of the week, Keller, Dillon, Argus Observer reporter Larry Meyer and myself will compose our editorials.
Hart and Meyer will be part of our board for three months. Then they will rotate out, and we will seek other candidates in the community to help fill their spots.
Who will write the editorials? Well, that will be me. Which does not mean that I simply take input and then write what I want. It isn’t that simple, and it never has been.
What I will do is gather up the main collective themes and opinions of the board on a subject and then physically write the piece. Once that is done, all members of the board will be able to preview the editorial to add comments or suggestions or add facts that we will incorporate.
This method allows us to bring diverse and good ideas to our existing editorial board platform. I’m really excited about the concept, and I think it is going to enrich our opinion page.
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the Argus Observer.
