An editorial, leader (UK), or leading article (UK) is an article in a newspaper or magazine that expresses the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher.

Editorial boards

The editorial board is a group of editors, usually at a print publication, who dictate the tone and direction that the publication's editorials will take. In much of the English-speaking world, editorials are typically not written by the regular reporters of the news organization, but are instead collectively authored by a group of individuals and published without bylines. In fact, most major newspapers have a strict policy of keeping "editorial" and "news" staffs separate. The editorial board of a newspaper will regularly convene to discuss and assign editorial tasks. If editorials are written by the board, then they generally represent the newspaper's official positions on the issues. Often however, there exist also one or more regular opinion columnists who present their own point of view. Most newspapers also utilize nationally syndicated columnists to supplement the content of their own opinion pages. ll Testing1234567890

Editorial guidelines

Editorials are generally printed either on their own page of a newspaper or in a clearly marked-off column, and are always labeled as editorials (to avoid confusion with news coverage). They often address current events or public controversies. Generally, editorials fall into four broad types: news, policy, social, and special. When covering controversial topics such as election issues, some opinion page editors will run "dueling" editorials, with each staking out a respective side of the issue.

Many magazines also feature editorials, mainly by the editor or publisher of the publication. Additionally, most print publications feature an editorial, or letter from the editor, followed by a Letters to the Editor section. The American Society of Magazine Editors has developed a list of editorial guidelines, to which a majority of magazine editors commonly adhere.. Most editorial pieces take the form of an essay or thesis, using arguments to promote a point of view.

Structure of editorials

The editorial page of a newspaper is not about news. It is about personal views. Articles appearing on a newspaper's editorial pages represent the views of the newspaper's editor and/or it's editorial board.

Many print publications feature an editorial or 'letter from the editor', which is followed by 'letters to the editor' section where members of the public write in with comments on the editorials or articles in that publication. People write in from all over the world and a letter written by a person residing in Mumbai, for example, will go to the publication in Mumbai to which he's written.

General opinion holds that the content of editorials needs to carry a message strong enough to eliminate the need for photos associated with the opinion expressed.