Behind the Scenes: How commentaries differ from news stories

But as a journalist and managing editor who spends my days carefully fact-checking literally everything, I get a little cranky when I see a comment on an opinion piece that says something like (exactly like), “Can’t call this news. Whoever is in charge of these ‘news articles,’ do better. Spreading ignorance shouldn’t be news,” on our Facebook page.

That’s what the “commentary” tag is for: Flagging it as opinion. How can you tell if something is an opinion? How can you tell if something is news?

According to my copy of “Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary” by Mirriam-Webster — a gift from my Aunt Sue and cousins Eric and Mandy when I graduated from Hood River Valley High in 1990 (yes, I am that old) — an opinion is “a view, judgment or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter; belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge; a generally held view.”

Now, the definition of news (my god, the lettering in this dictionary is tiny — I don’t remember having to squint this much in college) is “a report on recent events; material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast; matter that is newsworthy.” And just to go one further, journalism is defined as “writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts of description of events without an attempt at interpretation.”

Emphasis mine.

As for Columbia Gorge News, and newspapers in general, we have an opinion page in addition to our news pages. Our news pages are filled with articles containing factual information concerning relevant matters in our community, like meeting coverage and events (to name but a couple). In these stories, we share what we learned — here’s what was said, this is the context, here’s the consequences of that. All of it can be backed up with legitimate sources and public records. (We don’t print what we can’t prove.) News stories do not tell you what to think; they simply outline the facts.

One reason I can do this job, incidentally, is because I don’t care what the facts are — I just care that they’re facts. (It probably also helps that I don’t even believe everything I think, let alone anyone else.)

Our opinion page is not set up like a news page. We have dedicated space for letters to the editor and commentaries — again, a “view, judgment or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.”

Sometimes in their letters to the editor submissions, people confuse opinion with fact, and when that happens, I ask for a source to back up their claims. (Pro tip: Calling me names and questioning our letters policy isn’t the same as providing sources and will not get your letter published.) If they can’t do that, then it needs to be very clear in the letter that it is what they think, not what they know as fact.

Some letters to the editor include facts that can be backed up — usually because it’s already been reported, but sometimes it’s because the letter writer is involved with an organization and is relaying information based on that expertise. And some writers do me a solid from the outset and cite their sources without me having to ask. (Which I greatly appreciate.)

The same rules apply to commentaries — though perhaps to avoid confusion, we should start calling them “guest opinions” instead. I was going to say more, but honestly, all of the above applies to this, too, so why repeat myself?

If you take one thing away from my column today (which I have helpfully marked as “free” on our website so you can all read it), I hope it’s this: Neither letters to the editor nor commentaries are news stories, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of our staff, publisher, or advertisers.

One last thing: I do not pick and choose which letters get into each edition. What you see is what was submitted before deadline, first come, first served, as space allows.

The letters each week reflect what people are thinking. If letters slant a certain way, it’s because a whole bunch of people are thinking the same thing and felt the need to write about it.

If you don’t like what is being said, you are always welcome to write your own.