Editorial Page

The editorial page is the part of a newspaper (and, by extension, a news website) dedicated to opinion rather than reporting. It typically contains three kinds of material: unsigned editorials expressing the institutional view of the publication's editorial board; signed columns by staff or guest writers; and letters to the editor from readers. A facing page of longer outside commentary is conventionally called the op-ed page (short for "opposite the editorial page"), a format pioneered by The New York Times in 1970 under editor John B. Oakes.

The separation of the editorial page from the news pages is a core convention of Anglo-American journalism, intended to preserve the credibility of news reporting by walling off advocacy. Editorial boards usually operate under a publisher or opinion editor and meet to decide the paper's stance on elections, legislation, and public controversies. Endorsements of political candidates – a long-standing tradition at papers such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, and many regional dailies – are produced here, not in the newsroom.

For political researchers and MUN delegates, editorial pages are useful as primary sources of elite opinion. They can be analyzed to track shifts in establishment consensus, to gauge a paper's ideological leaning, or to compare framing across countries. Comparative scholars often contrast the editorial lines of, for example, The Guardian, Le Monde, Die Zeit, The Times of India, and People's Daily on the same international event.

Editorial pages have become flashpoints in debates over media independence. Notable recent controversies include the 2020 resignation of New York Times opinion editor James Bennet after the publication of Senator Tom Cotton's op-ed calling for military deployment against protesters, and the 2024 decisions by The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times owners to halt presidential endorsements, which prompted high-profile staff resignations and subscriber cancellations.

When citing an editorial, researchers should note that it represents the publication's view, not an individual journalist's, and that it is opinion, not verified news.