Separate reporting from comment
Journalistic formats belong to two broad families: reporting and comment. Readers should always know whether they are receiving verified information or an argued opinion. The distinction is part of the publication’s promise, not simply a matter of choosing a label.
The essentials
Reporting helps people know. It can provide service information, convey a fact in a brief, tell a field story, portray a person, present an interview, investigate a disputed issue or explain evidence. The journalist’s personal judgement should not displace the message or the sources. What matters is what the reporting establishes.
Comment helps people consider a position. Editorials argue a view; criticism, columns and shorter opinion pieces offer judgement, interpretation, taste or humour. Once the writer tells the audience what they think, the work has entered this family. That freedom still depends on accurate facts and a clear contract with the reader.
José de Broucker offers a useful grammatical clue. Reporting tends to describe what is; comment often asks what should, could or must be. Treat this as a warning light when editing, not an automatic verdict. A stray demand in a news account may reveal an opinion that needs to be attributed, explained or removed.
Take it to the field
Highlight attributed facts in one colour and judgements in another. If they blend together, clarify the format promised to the reader and rewrite sentences in which your opinion presents itself as established information.
Your turn
Choose ten items from a newspaper or news website. Classify each as reporting or comment, noting the clues: its label, byline, grammar, vocabulary and treatment of evidence.