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

Content: Rooted in the effects tradition, researchers have attributed an important role to editorials in informing and shaping debate in the public sphere in four ways: ( 1) as an influence on readers, voters, and/or public opinion; ( 2) as an influence on the internal news agendas and coverage of newspapers; ( 3) as an influence on the agendas and coverage in other news media; and (4) as an influence on political or policy agendas. Theorizing newspapers as active and independent political actors in the political process further underpins the need to research editorial journalism. Third, editorial journalism has been overlooked by sociological studies of journalism practices. Research provides a limited understanding of the routines and practices of editorial journalists and the organization of editorial opinion at newspapers. Although rare, studies focusing on editorial journalism show that editorial opinion does not simply reflect the influence of proprietors, as has often been assumed. Rather, editorial opinions are shaped by a complex range of factors.