Title: Editorial Journalism and Newspapers’ Editorial Opinions | Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication
Headings: Editorial Journalism and Newspapers’ Editorial Opinions
Editorial Journalism and Newspapers’ Editorial Opinions
Summary
Keywords
Introducing Editorial Journalism
Editorial Journalism as a Distinct Genre and Practice
The History of Editorial Journalism
Newspapers’ Editorial Opinions and Partisanship
Editorials as Texts—Persuasive Style and Content
What Makes Editorial Journalism Unique?
Editorials and Other Forms of Opinion Journalism
The Significance of Editorial Journalism: Persuasive Power
Influence on Readers, Voters, and Public Opinion
Influence on Newspapers’ Internal News Agendas and Other Coverage
The Influence of Editorials on Other News Media, Political Elites, and Policymakers
Newspapers as Independent Political Actors
What Shapes Newspapers’ Editorial Positions?
Routines for Issue Selection, Deciding the Agenda, and the Line and Tone of Editorial Opinion
The Influence of Proprietors, Ownership, and Editors
Editorial Journalism and Diversity
Discussion of the Literature
References
Notes

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Editorial Journalism and Newspapers’ Editorial Opinions
Julie Firmstone
Julie Firmstone School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.803
Published online: 26 March 2019
Summary
Editorial journalism and newspapers’ editorial opinions represent an area of research that can make an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between the press and politics. Editorials are a distinctive format and are the only place in a newspaper where the opinions of a paper as an organization are explicitly represented. Newspapers and the journalists who write editorials play a powerful role in constructing political debate in the public sphere. They use their editorial voice to attempt to influence politics either indirectly, through reaching public opinion, or directly, by targeting politicians. Editorial journalism is at its most persuasive during elections, when newspapers traditionally declare support for candidates and political parties. Despite the potential of editorial opinions to influence democratic debate, and controversy over the way newspapers and their proprietors use editorials to intervene in politics, editorial journalism is under-researched.