Of course we have opinions. 

But we will always tell you when something is an opinion piece and not a news article. 

All media should always make a clear distinction between news and opinion.

The Valdosta Daily Times only places opinion pieces on its editorial pages under the page header PointOfView.

An open marketplace of ideas, a public square of sorts, is important in an open and free society and newspapers have a long legacy of providing a free open forum.

But readers should always be able to easily discern between straight forward news reporting and commentary, which is why we confine opinion pieces to opinion pages.

While that distinction is clear in the printed edition of the newspaper, it has occurred to us that the difference between news and opinion is not always as clear on newspaper websites. While we have always posted editorials, columns and letters to the editor in the opinion section of our digital site, if you come to the site via a link or social media post, you might not always know you are in the opinions section.

So, we are going the extra mile and now each newspaper editorial begins with the word “EDITORIAL” before each headline on the website.

The national media has blurred the lines between news and opinion.

We strongly believe news should always be news and commentary should always be labeled.

When it comes to blending news and commentary, both liberal and conservative media outlets are guilty as charged.

Only the most discerning news consumer can tell where the reporting ends and the commentary begins with the major media outlets.

Commentary is important. Stimulating a civil public discourse is essential to an open and free society. Editorials make us all think, regardless of ideology, and should.

Editorials belong on editorial pages and should always be clearly marked on websites or clearly identified when broadcast on television or radio. The blending of opinion with facts makes readers skeptical of facts.

There should always be clear lines of demarcation drawn between news reporting and opinion pieces.

Opinion writing is not only important, it is necessary if we are going to hold the powerful accountable.

Readers, listeners or viewers should always be able to clearly discern the nature of the information they are reading, listening to or viewing. Is it news or opinion? Opinions are neither right nor wrong. They are just opinions, and thoughtful media consumers will evaluate opinion pieces and agree or disagree. That’s the way it should be.

There is no such thing as an alternative fact. A fact is a fact and reporting should be the sharing of facts, not opinions.

When an opinion does appear in a news report, it should only be the opinion of a newsmaker, a source, in which case it is a fact that the opinion being reported is what the person said they believe on a particular subject during an interview with a reporter who is just writing what the source said. A reporter’s job is to collect facts then write the report in a clear and understandable way without tainting the report with the writer’s opinions.

Reporters must, in essence, disappear — be invisible in news reports.

We have strong opinions and are not afraid to share them with our readers. We don’t expect everyone to agree with every opinion, but we hope editorials make you think.

We also have a strong commitment to never blurring the line between news and opinion writing, and that is why you will always find the opinions of the newspaper, columnists, cartoonists and letter writers right here on the Point Of View page, where they belong.

We hope that by more clearly labeling all editorials on our digital platforms the difference between news and commentary will be even more clear for all our readers, regardless of platform.