It’s a good thing that the editorial pages of the N.Y. Times and Wall Street Journal aren’t people, and that they aren’t married to each other. Can you imagine the fights the two of them would have? One would want the housekeeper to come on Mondays and Fridays; the other would insist on Wednesdays only. One would want to keep the fruit in the refrigerator; the other would insist that cold fruit is a travesty. One would cheer to the skies when John Bolton resigned as U.S. envoy to the United Nations; and the other would curse like a sailor.
That last example is pretty much what happened in today’s papers. Here’s how the two editorial pages commented upon the Bolton resignation:
“John Bolton’s decision to resign as America’s envoy to the United Nations was a wise move …. Mr. Bolton has always been hostile to the U.N., and to the whole spirit of consensus-seeking diplomacy it embodies.”
and:
“Mr. Bolton served with exemplary tact at Turtle Bay, notwithstanding critics who said he wouldn’t. More important, he has stood forcefully for American interests despite the leaks and sniping from the office of Secretary General Kofi Annan.”
I will not insult anyone’s intelligence by assuming you don’t know which paper wrote which commentary.
There have been quite a few calls lately for newspapers to get rid of their editorial pages (like this one and this one), and in theory I find that idea quite appealing. It strikes me as a fairly archaic, paternalistic, and wasteful practice for a separate section of any newspaper to tell its readers how to think about the news that another section just reported. But if the editorial pages were abolished, we’d all be deprived of the daily thrill of watching how a pair of bickering spouses like the Times and Journal choose to bicker about a particular topic.
So forget about the civic value of the editorial page; maybe the entertainment value is enough.
12 Comments
Reminds me of the idea of not allowing polls to be conducted or made public in order to increase voter turnout… although it would probably have the opposite effect on newspaper sales as there is probably a substantial number of people who purchase a certain paper based on its perceived bias.
— donaldoLet’s abolish the formation of one’s ability to think objectively and form his/her own views also. It’s all about the consideration of sources and their motives–especially in today’s media landscape where any schmuck with Internet access has the opportunity to reach the masses. Critical reasoning is an invaluable exercise, if all printed material were fact what would be the outlet for this mental opus?
— snubgodtohEvery news story contains bias–or “telling its readers how to think” as you put it. The editorial section merely states this up front.
— mgrovesI think editorial pages provide a useful framing device to discuss the key issues of the day. And despite increased record retention in the last few years, I think they still provide a unique window into the way people were thinking about things at the time without the benefit of hindsight. The fact remains that newspapers remain key to civilian investigation of governmental authority (and will remain so, pretty much regardless of circulation declines, I think), and the editorial page provides a backdrop. Besides, in a day where each person has more and more at his disposal to spread his personal beliefs (blogs included!), there is something quaintly satisfying about an “institutional” viewpoint which is not the result of someone trying to win an election.
— kramsauer“…to get rid of their editorial pages…”
I agree. Remove them to the blog world.
— p5melaThey still have newspapers?
— 711buddhahey , keep the editorial pages….
— dvrravieditorials are to news as post-match analysis is to sports.
you need to have a better view of things - editorials do just that.
Should technical reports include conclusions? If so, newspapers should include editiorals.
— bertrecordsIt can be argued that editorials are traditional platforms for privileged opinions. Sure. But they are at least informed opinions, and at the better papers they are thoughtful and reasonable, written by professional writers and editors who know what real news is about and what matters — unlike 99 percent of the blogosphere. People used to know the difference between the news pages and the editorials. As for 711buddha, the answer is yes, and if you’ve been in a major metropolitan city lately you’ll find that people still read them. May I suggest the Sunday NYT on occasion? Perhaps this Friday’s WSJ? There are also some decent magazines being printed weekly and monthly. Oh, and books. They still print books, too.
— editorguyMr. Dubner,
“I will not insult anyone’s intelligence by assuming you don’t know which paper wrote which commentary.”
First, I would like to say that we Brazilians love to read Freakonomics too.
And honestly admit: I don’t know from which paper the quotantions are.
Freaknomics are becoming bigger and world wider. We, the non americans, would appreciate if you could consider this in your articles.
Honestly,
Marques, Rodrigo
— oritemisA Brazilian reader.
I agree with MGroves “at least the editorial page states that it is an editorial upfront”. To answer your question Rodrigo, if you want to get an opinion of the liberal left, there is not need to search for the editorial section, just read the front page of the New York Times or the Boston Globe.
— Fevereditorguy said “People used to know the difference between the news pages and the editorials”
Perhaps people have become confused about this difference because most newspapers long ago blurred the difference between the two. It is all too common to find pure opinion right there in the “news” stories. I’m not talking about subtler things, such as the choice of value-laden words; I’m talking about declarative sentences.
About the NYT - despite my two first cousins who are editors there, I stopped reading the Times years ago. I will occasionally work a Times crossword puzzle if I find a clean copy on the train. I get news on the net. On the net, I can drill into most stories as far as I like; I can choose from a variety of sources and perspectives; I find a wider variety of opinion; I can access updates and late scores 24 x 7; and the net does not smear my hands with printers’ ink.
— John Fembup