Key changes to these pages

Beginning Monday, readers will see significant changes in our editorial and op-ed pages. Some changes will be obvious. Others will be less noticeable.

But the overall result should be livelier and more timely editorials as well as letters and opinion pages that are more open than ever to the widest possible range of views.

The most significant changes:

A reorganized editorial board that will oversee these pages, produce the editorials and manage letters, guest opinions and syndicated columns.

A separation of the editorial department from the rest of The Spokesman-Review's news operations.

A return to unsigned editorials.

Let's take them in order.

1. The reorganized editorial board: As part of a series of personnel moves, the newspaper last week named Doug Floyd to the position of editorial page editor. He replaces opinion editor John Webster who was promoted to newsroom systems editor. Floyd will oversee all editorial page operations. He will report to the editor and publisher.

Joining Floyd on the full-time editorial board, in addition to the editor and publisher, will be D.F. Oliveria, longtime Idaho editorialist and column writer; Rebecca Nappi, former interactive editor and soon-to-be local news columnist; Gary Crooks, formerly an assistant news editor and contributor to these pages; and Fern Christenson, longtime letters coordinator.

This new board represents a cross-section of political and social viewpoints rooted firmly in the history and culture of Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

While the editorial board will strive to present a strong institutional voice in our editorials (which appear under the "Our View" heading), readers can expect a continued willingness to provoke thoughtful dialogue on the pressing issues of the day.

Readers should not expect significant changes in the newspaper's editorial philosophy. But the new structure should produce editorials that are more timely, tied to the day's events. And we expect to sharpen our focus on the community's most critical issues.

2. Editorial department separation: In 1994, the newspaper embarked on what was then a bold experiment. In an effort to expose editorial columns to a wider range of views and challenge a perceived ivory tower sensibility, the board created several new access points for readers as contributors. In time, those columns also were opened up to several members of the news staff.

That was a radical departure from contemporary journalistic practice, which dictates the absolute separation of news and opinion functions. While The Spokesman-Review has always made newscoverage decisions independently of the publisher and the editorial board, we think that strict separation serves our credibility better.

The new editorial board will operate independently from the newsroom. Board members' offices will be separate - by several floors - from news offices. And decisions on editorial policy will be made in meetings closed to news staffers.

These steps will not dissuade those who believe the institution's editorial opinions influence news content. But the separation responds to and satisfies our commitment to the ethics and values of our profession.

3. Unsigned editorials: As part of the 1994 experiment, editorial writers began signing their work. This also was a departure from contemporary practice. At most American newspapers, editorials are unsigned because they reflect the views of the newspaper as an institution, not those of any individual.

In our experience since 1994, signed editorials have personalized what is meant to be the collective voice of the editorial board.

The decision to return to accepted practice was not unanimous. But we all are committed to presenting opinions from a wide range of sources - readers, syndicated columnists, cartoonists. Our voice will be a part of that mix, but only a part. At times individual editorial board members will present their views in signed columns. But "Our View" will be an institutional voice and, as such, will carry no one byline.

Critics of this decision will argue that unsigned editorials make the writer, and the newspaper, less accountable. We disagree. All members of the editorial board, including the publisher, editor and editorial page editor, are available to discuss and debate the paper's editorial view at any time. And letters and guest columns can criticize unsigned editorials as well as those that are signed.

Those are the major changes. Over time, readers may see others as we re-evaluate our lineup of syndicated columns and as we add additional local voices through guest opinions.

We'll also re-evaluate our letters-to-the-editor practices. In the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, The Spokesman-Review printed 4,700 letters to the editor - far, far more than any paper of comparable size in the United States. But we also rejected about 5,500 letters.

Printing everything we receive is an impossibility. But we need to make sure that the letters printed reflect a cross-section of the opinions received and that our filtering process is fair and balanced.

Our goal is to make sure that our editorial pages remain open to the widest possible range of views, which certainly includes views critical of this newspaper.

If you have questions about the changes described, please contact any editorial board member. Contact information is provided in the biographical sketches below.

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
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