Information Beans: Should Editorials Be Signed?

There are many misconceptions about newspapers and the unsigned editorial is no exception. When some people think of editorials, they think of opinion columns written by one person. Unsigned or anonymous opinion columns are unreliable and carry as much weight as your average blogger. These columns should be signed, but this is not the issue. Unfortunately, people confuse an opinion column with an editorial opinion, which is a collection of editors’ views. Should an editorial representing a collection of opinions be signed by one person?

Many people believe editorials reflect one person’s opinion. This is untrue for most, if not all, newspapers. The age-old theory is the publisher controls the editorial page. Lee Enterprises has a daily circulation of over 1.5 million newspapers across the country. As the publisher, does Lee Enterprises control the opinion of all these newspapers? It would be easy to expose the company if all its newspapers shared one opinion. The theory is just too far-fetched. While it is reasonable to believe publishers inform its newspapers of its opinion, it would not determine the editorial opinion for every newspaper.

Another argument against unsigned editorials is they misrepresent the newspaper in two ways: first of all, how can one opinion represent the newspaper if the reporters are excluded? And second, not every editor has to agree on something, just the majority. To answer the first question, the editorial page is designed for the editors. They are usually the most seasoned reporters and are involved in every story that goes into the newspaper. While their opinions are not more valuable than the reporters’, a line has to be drawn somewhere. Do you have to include the advertising department as well? How could a reasonable debate be held with this many people?

To address the second point, it is illogical to believe every editor can agree on one opinion. The New York Times has 17 editors and can comfortably hold discussions in a single room and challenge one another. In the end, if 9 agree and 8 disagree, should the editorial represent all of them? It should because a newspaper has to draw the line. If a 9 to 8 decision does not count, than should any majority? It is also foolish to believe all 17 editors can agree on one opinion, so using the majority opinion seems the most sensible.

Another viewpoint is an editorial has to be written by one person, so does it reflect the overall opinion? The reason for the editorial meetings is to gather all sides and take notes. When it comes time to write the editorial, the writer is well-informed and can morph many opinions into one article. It may even represent the dissenting views to strengthen the majority opinion and challenge it.