Editorial: What do you really care about?
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What is an editorial?
It isn’t an article that keeps close to the events as they unfold, like with a car crash or a fire. It isn’t an investigation that takes a larger incident and digs into the background, unearthing truths that were perhaps not just unknown but unexpected. It isn’t a feature that addresses a lifestyle issue with lighthearted tone.
An editorial might have elements of any of those. It should be built on a foundation of facts like the article. It should dig deeper into what those facts mean, like the investigation. It may sometimes hit at a lighter topic with a tongue-in-cheek air.
What an editorial is, at its heart, the voice of the news organization. It addresses not just the issues that matter to the paper, but the overall attitude. At the Tribune-Review, we strive to have that voice and that attitude be grounded in common sense. But an editorial also reflects the thoughts and feelings of the readers, measured by its engagement.
Years ago, that was hard to gauge. While people would buy a paper or maintain a subscription, we couldn’t tell what pages they really read or what stories resonated. We might see some headlines or events make a difference, but when it came to something like the opinion page, it was harder to judge.
The era of internet gives us better insight on what issues prompt reaction from readers.
Sometimes it is politics. The single most read editorial of 2022 was on the impact of U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s defection from the Democratic Party. The contentious races to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate and as governor also gained plenty of readers. State government frequently scored high, too.
But issues didn’t have to be as big as all of Pennsylvania to be important.
Thousands of readers engaged with editorials on the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge and what it meant for infrastructure in their own communities. They nodded along with an assessment of the prison sentence for former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold’s failure to register as a sex offender. They agreed there is too much drama in the Westmoreland County Courthouse.
Readers are as frustrated with the Pittsburgh Pirates as they are concerned about education. They are worried about their own finances and want their local, county and state leaders to spend tax money thoughtfully and with restraint.
Measuring out what matters to our readers shows that, while party and partisanship may seem divisive, the real issues that strike chords aren’t so different.