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Editorials don't have to be critical
This past Sunday in our Forum Section, the editorial was a very upbeat piece on Oakland County Community College.
We’ve editorialized about the educational institution a number of times over the past few years and the reason is because it deserves the credit.
This particularly time it appeared in our Forum Section, which is four pages of opinions as opposed to the one page every other day of the week. I’ll discuss the Forum Section in a little more detail on Wednesday but what I want point out now is that the Sunday editorial was very upbeat — and rightfully so for OCC. But I’ve received comments from many people who seem to think that editorials must always take a stance and should be about much more serious topics. Well, while I respect their opinions, I, along with the Editorial Board, must disagree.
Especially for The Oakland Press, we like to give credit where credit is due. So occasionally we will run an editorial that basically praises the action of someone or group as opposed to just criticizing them.
It’s not necessarily a unique concept but it is one we like. Certainly, there are many serious topics that we could discuss in an editorial. That’s part of life. But also part of life is a brighter and generally happier or positive side. Everything on the Editorial Page, like in the newspaper, doesn’t have to be negative.
Giving special credit to such well run and managed colleges as OCC gives us a chance to shine a positive light on such institutions. It allows us, basically, to give credit where credit is due.
The upbeat editorials don’t have to be limited to groups or organizations. We frequently spotlight individuals, often elected officials, who have, in the view of the Editorial Board, some special praise. That doesn’t mean they will avoid future criticism.
The positive editorials are example of the balance we try to provide, as a newspaper, on our Opinion Page.
There’s not just bad but also good in our society and in our role as an information source, we take pride in being able to point this out.
We’ve editorialized about the educational institution a number of times over the past few years and the reason is because it deserves the credit.
This particularly time it appeared in our Forum Section, which is four pages of opinions as opposed to the one page every other day of the week. I’ll discuss the Forum Section in a little more detail on Wednesday but what I want point out now is that the Sunday editorial was very upbeat — and rightfully so for OCC. But I’ve received comments from many people who seem to think that editorials must always take a stance and should be about much more serious topics. Well, while I respect their opinions, I, along with the Editorial Board, must disagree.
Especially for The Oakland Press, we like to give credit where credit is due. So occasionally we will run an editorial that basically praises the action of someone or group as opposed to just criticizing them.
It’s not necessarily a unique concept but it is one we like. Certainly, there are many serious topics that we could discuss in an editorial. That’s part of life. But also part of life is a brighter and generally happier or positive side. Everything on the Editorial Page, like in the newspaper, doesn’t have to be negative.
Giving special credit to such well run and managed colleges as OCC gives us a chance to shine a positive light on such institutions. It allows us, basically, to give credit where credit is due.
The upbeat editorials don’t have to be limited to groups or organizations. We frequently spotlight individuals, often elected officials, who have, in the view of the Editorial Board, some special praise. That doesn’t mean they will avoid future criticism.
The positive editorials are example of the balance we try to provide, as a newspaper, on our Opinion Page.
There’s not just bad but also good in our society and in our role as an information source, we take pride in being able to point this out.
posted by Allan Adler at
11:26 AM
1 Comments:
The Oakland Press presents both positive and negative points of view in the editorial section. And that is a nice. I personally never see a positive editorial in a national paper anymore.
It seems that news agencies are much more interested in printing negative editorials. Anyone can speculate as to why; so I will give a few brief reasons myself.
1) Journalists, themselves, are negative people - I think this negativity comes from the irony of the job. Journalists are supposed to report facts and, at the same time, make a profit. This feat is very difficult to do. So the constant strain and pull of both sides creates stress. This view is very simplified, and I am happy to acknowledge there are many more factors. :)
2) Our society is negative - It is much easier for us to blame someone else than ourselves. I, myself, am working on not blaming others because most of the time my attitude, in most situations, is the cause of blame. When I walk around campus or go to work, 90% of the conversations are negative. So news agencies, I think, are trying to give what the public wants — someone to blame.
Anyway, that is all I got. I do agree the Oakland Press does a wonderful job with the presentation of their editorials. We have cancelled our service, however, I still read the editorials online. :)
Always a pleasure to read your blog Mr. Adler. Thank you for your time, and have a nice day.
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