12/14/21, 9:27 PM Jeremy Boyer: Helping readers separate opinion and news | Columns | auburnpub.

com

https://auburnpub.com/opinion/columnists/jeremy-boyer-helping-readers-separate-opinion-and-
news/article_59d7be51-13c5-5dcb-943d-ae025b2ff738.html

MY VIEW

Jeremy Boyer: Helping readers separate opinion and news

Jul 16, 2020

By Jeremy Boyer
Executive editor
Jeremy Boyer is the executive editor of The Citizen. He started at The Citizen as news editor in
2004, and was promoted his current position in 2006.

https://auburnpub.com/opinion/columnists/jeremy-boyer-helping-readers-separate-opinion-and-news/article_59d7be51-13c5-5dcb-943d-ae025b2ff738.… 1/4
12/14/21, 9:27 PM Jeremy Boyer: Helping readers separate opinion and news | Columns | auburnpub.com

Jeremy Boyer

"T
his article is just your opinion. Why don't you just report the facts?"

I long ago lost count of how many times that statement, or one of its
variations, has been conveyed toward The Citizen in response to one of our
editorials that appear in the Opinion section of the newspaper and at
auburnpub.com.

It's a reaction that often stems from a lack of understanding of how a newspaper
opinion section works. And it's a good reminder that our industry can always do a
better job of showing readers how we operate.

Many people do understand that a newspaper "editorial" is an opinion column

formed by a publication's "editorial board," a small group that separates its work
from the news reports that are in other, typically more prominent, areas of the
paper or website.

But it's easy to understand how some people could be confused when they see an
editorial. We also use that same word frequently to describe the entire newsroom,
as in "he works in the editorial" department. And the growth of online readership
has added to the confusion because the context of a piece being part of the opinion
section isn't always easy to see. There's a giant header that says "Opinion" at the
top of print page where an editorial appears, but that is usually much less obvious
online.

People are also reading…

1 'Unrelenting violence': Assaults on NY prison staff reach record high

2 Strong winds, with gusts up to 65 mph, predicted for Cayuga County area
this weekend

3 Auburn police: School threat report doesn't appear credible

4 'Tired of playing games': Owasco takes more legal action against resident
for code violations
https://auburnpub.com/opinion/columnists/jeremy-boyer-helping-readers-separate-opinion-and-news/article_59d7be51-13c5-5dcb-943d-ae025b2ff738.… 2/4
12/14/21, 9:27 PM Jeremy Boyer: Helping readers separate opinion and news | Columns | auburnpub.com

This week The Poynter Institute, a leading journalism training and advocacy
organization, published an interesting article on this issue that offered some
ideas for how we can better provide context so the reader understands when
something is an opinion piece. Suggestions included explainers at the top of all
columns, editorials and letters to the editor. Headlines that make the context clear
are also stressed.

As we continue to evolve and grow our digital readership, we'll be looking at these
and other ideas for improved context of our opinion content.

Damon Kiesow, Knight chair in digital editing and producing at the University of
Missouri School of Journalism and one of sources in the Poynter article, framed the
challenge well.

“Readers are not going to pay for content if they feel like they’re doing all the work
in the relationship,” he said. “By removing barriers to the news, removing barriers
to understanding, removing barriers to usability, we make the product more
valuable. Journalism is only half of the product; the user experience and the
journey around the journalism is the other half the product, and that’s what we
need to work on.”

Community events calendar

Earlier this week, David Wilcox, our outstanding features editor who has managed
our Go entertainment section and community events calendar for many years,
penned a column announcing our newly launched calendar platform.

Wilcox: Changes coming to The Citizen's calendar of events

I just wanted to reiterate the message David conveyed to anyone out there who has
an event — whether it's a live music gig, an online performance or a three-day
outdoor festival: Please create a free account and use it to submit your information
to our calendar.

https://auburnpub.com/opinion/columnists/jeremy-boyer-helping-readers-separate-opinion-and-news/article_59d7be51-13c5-5dcb-943d-ae025b2ff738.… 3/4
12/14/21, 9:27 PM Jeremy Boyer: Helping readers separate opinion and news | Columns | auburnpub.com

Lee Enterprises, our parent company, is rolling this tool out to its scores of
newspapers across the country. It can only work — both for event organizers to
spread the work and for our readers to find things to do — if we have robust
participation.

You can find this new calendar under the header "Local Events" just below the
latest news headlines at auburnpub.com. You can also get there directly at
auburnpub.com/events.

Jeremy Boyer
Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer’s column appears Thursdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at (315)
282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

By Jeremy Boyer
Executive editor
Jeremy Boyer is the executive editor of The Citizen. He started at The Citizen as news editor in
2004, and was promoted his current position in 2006.

https://auburnpub.com/opinion/columnists/jeremy-boyer-helping-readers-separate-opinion-and-news/article_59d7be51-13c5-5dcb-943d-ae025b2ff738.… 4/4