Star Tribune Opinion is committed to hosting a civil and informed debate on the issues that matter most to our readers. Here's a short guide on how we host that discussion:
Editorials
Editorials represent the view of the Star Tribune Editorial Board. Board members are David Banks, Jill Burcum, Scott Gillespie, Denise Johnson, Patricia Lopez, John Rash and D.J. Tice. Star Tribune Opinion staff members Maggie Kelly and Elena Neuzil also contribute, and Star Tribune Publisher and CEO Michael J. Klingensmith serves as an adviser to the board.
Editorial Board members offer their ideas at regular staff meetings. Those ideas come in response to news coverage, from sources members have developed in their areas of expertise, or from one of the meetings the board holds with community leaders, politicians, government officials and citizens' groups.
Board members discuss whether topics are worthy, how the editorial might be argued and what reporting will be needed to develop an informed opinion. There's sometimes disagreement about the direction an editorial should take, and in those cases, the editorial page editor makes the call.
Editorials do not have a byline or credit line because the author writes on behalf of the board and may or may not agree in full with the opinion expressed.
The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, meaning that news reporters and editors are not involved in determining the board's positions. For example, newsroom staff members learn about the board's political endorsements at the same time readers do — when they're published.
Readers Write
The Star Tribune publishes letters to the editor under the "Readers Write" banner each day. These are selected from among the several dozen (and sometimes hundreds) we receive, depending on what's in the news. Submissions are usually less than 300 words.
In picking which letters to publish, we have three main goals: to add insight to public discussions; to reflect the balance of what readers are saying, in the proportion they're saying it; and to offer compilations that are engaging to read. These goals are sometimes at odds, but we try to balance them.
