Welcome to the Opinion page. In preparation for a new school year, we would like to explain the content you will see on Page 2.
The first and most important distinction that readers should make about the Oregon Daily Emerald, and any other newspaper for that matter, is that commentary and opinion pieces are just that – opinions. They are not news articles. They will be biased and they don’t have to (but often should) present both sides to every argument.
The Opinion page is meant to be a forum to spark thought-provoking discussion, and the content on that page is meant to be sharp and opinionated. But that doesn’t mean those opinions spill over into our choice of news content. We make a sharp distinction between news and opinion content and take precautions to prevent opinions from leaking into articles.
We understand that college is about being involved and active, so we won’t for the most part limit our reporters’ outside activities. But we can guarantee that if a reporter is involved in a group, he or she will not be cover it for the Emerald.
To provoke discussion, we print the opinions of several columnists. Columnists are allowed to write about nearly any topic they choose, even – or especially – when their opinions are controversial or unpopular. We hope to reflect the immense diversity of thought on this campus and hope that our columnists reflect that in their writing. If you wish you saw more opinions like yours in the Emerald, we invite you to apply to become a columnist yourself. Applications are available at www.dailyemerald.com/jobs.
Along the same lines, we also welcome opinions from people outside of the newsroom. We recognize that we alone cannot accurately reflect our community. Letters and guest commentary pieces are an integral part of our Opinion page and we will strive to print every submission we receive.
Readers should be aware that the content on the Opinion page – unless it is an editorial – does not represent the position of the Emerald on any stance. Many of the letters we receive berate us for opinions that we have nothing to do with. If we print something in the Opinion section, that does not imply that anyone at the Emerald agrees with anything the piece contains.
The editorial board determines the Emerald’s stance on issues and then expresses those stances by writing editorials. All editorial decisions are made by the board, so in direct contrast to other Opinion content, the editorials don’t represent the opinion of any one person. In order to keep our news content as free from bias as possible, reporters are not allowed to be on the editorial board. Also, when a member of the editorial board has a relationship with a topic that could give the appearance of a conflict of interest, that person will be recused from discussion and will not help determine the paper’s stance on that issue.