What is an Editorial?

A piece of writing or article which is written by a senior publisher or editorial staff of a newspaper or magazine is called Editorial. It is an opinion piece but unlike a column in a newspaper isn’t written from a single writers personal opinion.

Instead, it is the opinion of the publication. More simply, an editorial is a piece of opinion by Senior editors based on their experience and research that are not strictly news. These pieces usually show up on the dedicated page, called the editorial page, which often features letters to the editor from members of the public; the page opposite this page is called the op-ed page and frequently contains opinion pieces by writers not directly affiliated with the publication.

An editorial is often called Leading article in US or Leader in the UK. In another much broader sense “Editorial” also refers to all the content in a journal publication.

Illustrated Editorials appear in the form of Cartoon Editorials. They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole, and satire to question authority and draw attention to corruption, political violence, and other social ills. The editorials featured with often full-page photographs on a particular theme, designer, model or another single topic, with or without accompanying text are called photo editorials. Photo-Editorials are published in Fashion Journals.

There are four categories or types of editorials:

Editorial of Argumentation: The purpose of which is to energize readers to think the same way as the writer. This is often called editorial of persuasion. The editor argues to convince or persuade the reader to accept his take on the issue.
Editorial of Information/Interpretation: It seeks to give information on facts of news stories or add other facts with minimum explanation. It may define terms, identify persons or factors or provide background.
Editorial of Tribute, Praise, and Commendation: It praises, comments, or pays tribute to a person or organization that has performed some worthwhile projects or deeds, or accomplishments.
Editorial of Entertainment: It evokes a smile, a chuckle, laughter while suggesting truth. Its main aim is to entertain. It is usually short.

Editorial of Entertainment can be grouped in two sub-categories:

Humour as a vehicle to bring public awareness to an issue that’s not serious.
An example – a humorous campaign targeting dog walkers who don’t pick up after their furry children.
Satire or sarcasm used to highlight a very serious topic e.g.: sexual assault on college campuses.

Editorials are certainly the best part of publications and are a “must-read”. A keen reader never misses the editorial pages. For instance, news daily “The Hindu”, published in India is famous for its editorial section so much so that competitive exam aspirants who may/may not engulf the entire newspaper end up spending few minutes on the editorial section anyway.

Data Source: Passante, Christopher K. (2007). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Journalism – Editorials, 4 kinds of Editorials- Sacktein’s Journalism Resources