The structure, production routines, and political functions of editorials in contemporary journalism

ABSTRACT

The manuscript proposes a theoretical overview of editorial journalism in the contemporary media landscape by addressing aspects ranging from definitions to its alleged political effects. We also discuss the characteristics and routines driving the production of editorial texts in different journalistic cultures – a topic less considered in current research. At first, the manuscript explains how the division between news and opinion contributed to journalism’s emergence as a social field – a debate that deserves more attention since the scholarship has traditionally put opinionated journalism in the background. We then highlight the typical structure of editorial pieces, as well as the procedures and criteria generally considered in their construction. Next, the article analyzes the relationship between editorial journalism and the political arena. Finally, we reflect on the relevance of the media’s opinions in a digital environment. In addition to updating the debate on editorial journalism, the manuscript is relevant as historical and conceptual support to journalists’ training.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Academic Publishing Advisory Center (Centro de Assessoria de Publicação Acadêmica, CAPA – www.capa.ufpr.br) of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) for assistance with English language translation and editing.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ The literature conceptualizes a quality paper as an influential newspaper in the political field, which resonates in the public debate, targeting political, economic, and intellectual elites (Hallin & Mancini, 2004).

² Available at: <http://www.observatoriodaimprensa.com.br/imprensa-em-questao/a-palavra-a-opiniao-e-o-jornalismo/>. Access on: February 09th, 2021.

³ Available at: <https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-09-21/coronavirus-on-campus-colleges-should-rethink-their-reopening-plans>. Access on: February 09th, 2021.

⁴ Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/opinion/biden-climate-plan.html>. Access on: May 09th, 2021.

⁵ About José Serra, see: <https://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,editorial-o-mal-a-evitar,615255>; about Aécio Neves, see: <https://opiniao.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,a-hora-da-razao-imp-,1571206>. Access on: February 09th, 2021.

⁶ Available at: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/08/16/trump-responds-after-hundreds-of-newspaper-editorials-criticize-his-attacks-on-the-press/>. Access on: February 09th, 2021.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Brazilian National Scientific Council (CNPq) [310724/2020-1] and by the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) [001].