Editorial: The anatomy of your newspaper’s editorial page

The anatomy of your newspaper’s editorial page

1. Our View

2. Editorial Cartoon

3. Their View

4. Your View

Page 1A is the face of the newspaper.

Inside community pages are the connective tissue.

Advertisements are the life blood.

The editorial page is the heart and soul.

Editorial pages capture the pulse of a community, serve as a moral and ethical compass and frame civil discourse.

An open and free public forum is critical to any open and free society.

Editorial pages celebrate the freedom of speech and provide a redress of grievances guaranteed in the First Amendment.

Newspapers in the U.S. have a long and important tradition of political and social commentary that help define us and refine us as a nation.

In every edition of the Corsicana Daily Sun, readers will find the Point of View page on 4A — these are our editorial pages.

The Point of View page includes:

1. Our View

Each editorial page contains a position piece under the header Our Point of View, located on the left hand side of the page. The editorial represents the newspaper’s position on the topic.

Editorials can be intended to be of the watchdog variety, holding public officials accountable, while others are congratulatory, educational or intended as a public service.

The point of view is written by one of the newspaper’s editors and the perspective is determined by the newspaper’s editorial board that meets regularly to shape the opinions.

The Corsicana Daily Sun editorial board includes our publisher, editors, staff members and two members of our community.

Every member of the editorial board may not agree with the point of view in every case, but the meetings of the editorial board help shape the opinions contained in the daily editorial.

2. Editorial Cartoon

To the left of the editorial at the top of the page on the right side is the daily editorial cartoon.

The cartoons are intended to provide strong commentary and often include sarcasm and irony as tools to express the cartoonist’s point of view.

Editorial cartoons, unlike the newspaper’s Our Point of View editorial, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the newspaper.

The Corsicana Daily Sun publishes editorial cartoons that are intended to make readers think and to invoke response.

We strongly believe in the value of political debate and celebrate the longstanding newspaper tradition of robust commentary in the form of editorial cartoons.

We publish cartoons that could be viewed as very conservative, very liberal and everything in between.

3. Their View

Newspaper columns on the Point of View page, unlike the editorial, do not reflect the newspaper’s views.

Columns only reflect the views of the writer or columnist.

Some of the columns are written by newspaper staff, some are syndicated and others are written by local columnists that submit to the newspaper on a periodic basis.

Some are political, some are serious, some humorous and others are intended to be educational.

4. Your View

Letters to the Editor

The letters to the editor section of the editorial pages may be our favorite part. The letters section is your opportunity to share your opinions. The newspaper does not have to agree with your opinion or point of view. This is your free and open public forum. Letters contain opinions on issues that have public interest and are not a forum to air domestic disputes or consumer complaints.

The Corsicana Daily Sun strongly encourages letters to the editor.

Guest Columns

When readers have more to say than can be captured in a traditional letter to the editor, we offer the opportunity to write a longer column, generally including a photograph of the writer, and providing more space on the editorial page.