Confusion about labeling and design fuel reader complaints that opinions, political agendas and bias are creeping into reporters’ work.
In print, it’s fairly clear what’s an opinion piece and what’s a news article. Online, things aren’t so clear. Confusion fuels readers’ complaints that opinions, political agendas and bias are creeping into reporters’ work.
Research has shown that a lack of labeling can lead to reader confusion. In recent years, online news outlets have begun including the word “opinion” in bold text at the top of articles, sometimes highlighted in yellow or even directly in the headline.
“In our dream world, opinion content all begins with the word ‘opinion,’ a colon and then the headline, just to make it absolutely clear,” said Joy Mayer, founder and director of Trusting News, a nonprofit helping newsrooms earn trust and credibility. “It’s the only clear word to use.”
Though journalists may not realize it, other conventions use industry jargon, said Mayer. Readers don’t always know what “editorial” means, and the word itself has multiple uses. Generally speaking, an editorial is an opinionated column, but confusingly, the editorial department is the news department of a publication. (To further the confusion, Merriam-Webster defines editorial as “of or relating to an editor or editing.”) Similarly, some newspapers put the last name of the columnist at the front of a headline, but that practice is also occasionally used for sourcing.
Mayer said that journalists tend to fall back on conventions that have been in place for