It’s time to repeat a message that I’ve tried to get across to many readers over the past few years — there’s a difference between the Opinion Page and the regular news pages.

Many people realize this but unfortunately, many do not.

I constantly get letters saying they don’t like an editorial or a guest opinion or a column on the Opinion and demand that those pieces be written in a more objective, balanced style. Well, that defeats the purpose of an opinion page.

As the name implies, the page is meant to be a forum for people to express their views. They don’t have to give both sides of an issue, although they do have to support their positions with facts.

In a newspaper, balanced, impartially written stories go in the regular news sections. They must be unbiased and written, as much as possible, in a fashion that gives both sides of a story.

That’s not the case on the Opinion Page. Individual articles don’t have to be balanced in the way they are written, they can be prejudiced in favor of a certain position or point of view.

The balance on the Opinion Page comes in trying to run as many diverse opinion pieces as possible. For example, we run liberal columnists Leonard Pitts and E.J. Dionne on the Opinion Page but we try to balance them with commentary from such conservative writers as Charles Krauthammer, Walter Williams, Cal Thomas and Deroy Murdock.

Please remember — you don’t have to agree with every letter or column that appears on the Opinion Page. It’s someone’s opinion. You’re entitled to disagree and urged to write a letter saying so.