Elements of an Editorial

An editorial is a newspaper article written by or on behalf of an editor, and it expresses an opinion about a specific issue. Editorials are often written about current issues that affect a particular group of people, either strongly supporting or rejecting it. So, someone writing an editorial must be persuasive since editorials are meant to influence the opinions of readers. While news articles are supposed to be unbiased and balanced, editorials are meant to be biased, building on an argument.

Good editorials have:

• An introduction that has an intriguing hook to grab the reader’s attention, a body, and a conclusion
• The opinions of the writer expressed in a professional way, avoiding name-calling and focusing on the issue without attacking individuals
• The opposition’s beliefs, which are refuted with strong facts, examples, or quotations to support the writer’s position
• A pro-active approach to making the situation better rather than simply complaining about it
• A concise conclusion that powerfully sums up the writer’s position

Background for Boone’s Editorial

In 1956, racial segregation was a hot topic. Buford Boone, the publisher of The Tuscaloosa News in Alabama, wrote a powerful editorial in favor of ending racial segregation in schools. The editorial was titled ‘What a Price for Peace,’ and it contributed to him winning the Pulitzer Prize for his ‘fearless and reasoned editorials in a community inflamed by a segregation issue’.

‘What a Price for Peace’ was first published on February 7, 1956, the day after an angry mob assembled on the University of Alabama’s campus. The mob threatened to kill a student named Autherine Lucy, a young African-American woman who had been accepted to the University of Alabama before they realized she wasn’t white. She then worked with lawyers to sue the university and in 1955, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Lucy could attend. So when Lucy set foot on campus on February 6, 1956, a mob of people came to protest. They shouted racist chants, insulted Lucy, threw eggs at her, and threatened to kill her. Lucy had to be escorted off campus by the police and university officials voted to suspend Lucy, saying the campus was unsafe for her, and gave in to the angry, racist protesters.

The very next day, Buford Boone published what would become his award-winning editorial. Though it led to his recognition, it was a very controversial piece to publish at that time. Let’s look at a couple of excerpts from it.

Analyzing Boone’s Editorial

Boone’s editorial begins by saying:

When mobs start imposing their frenzied will on universities, we have a bad situation. Our government’s authority springs from the will of the people. But their wishes, if we are to be guided by democratic processes, must be expressed by ballot at the polls, by action in the legislative halls, and finally, by interpretation from the bench. No intelligent expression ever has come from a crazed mob, and it never will. And make no mistake. There was a mob, in the worst sense, at the University of Alabama yesterday. Every person who witnessed the events there with comparative detachment speaks of the tragic nearness with which our great University came to being associated with a murder — yes, we said murder.

In his first sentence, Boone grabs the reader’s attention with a strong hook using powerful words like ‘mob’ and ‘frenzied’. Boone immediately addresses and refutes the opposition who support the protesting mob by saying that the government’s authority springs from the will of the people. Therefore, he argues that people may not like desegregation, but they voted for those in power and the Supreme Court ruled in Autherine Lucy’s favor and in favor of desegregating the University of Alabama, so everyone must respect that decision.

He then goes on to discuss the democratic process, reminding readers that this is a healthy form of expression and is how changes are made. He then makes a powerful statement against the protesters by saying no intelligent expression can ever come from a mob. Though he is clearly against what those protesters did, he maintains a professional stance without name-calling or pointing fingers at any specific people within that angry group. He then supports his position by stating that every witness detached from the event talks about how close that moment came to becoming a murder. He then emphasizes his point by saying, ‘yes, we said murder’, repeating the word ‘murder’ and speaking for The Tuscaloosa News as a whole.

Boone’s editorial goes on to say:

The target was Autherine Lucy. Her ‘crimes’? She was born black, and she was moving against Southern custom and tradition — but with the law, right on up to the United States Supreme Court, on her side… As matters now stand, the University administration and trustees have knuckled under to the pressures and desires of a mob. What is to keep the same mob, if uncontrolled again, from taking over in any other field where it decides to impose its wishes? Apparently, nothing… What is the answer to a mob? We think that is clear. It lies in firm, decisive action. It lies in the use of whatever force is necessary to restrain and subdue anyone who is violating the law.

Boone gives specific facts about the issue, stating that Autherine Lucy was following the law and that the University of Alabama buckled under the pressure of the mob. Boone uses rhetorical questions to encourage readers to think critically about this issue and provides a clear solution, calling for action by using necessary force to restrain people who are violating the law, people like those violent protesters.

Not a single University student has been arrested on the campus and that is no indictment against the men in uniform, but against their higher levels which failed to give them clean-cut authority to go along with responsibility… What has happened here is far more important than whether a Negro girl is admitted to University. We have a breakdown of law and order, an abject surrender to what is expedient rather than a courageous stand for what is right… Yes, there’s peace on the University campus this morning. But what a price has been paid for it!

Boone makes a point not to blame police officers who were only following orders, but instead to focus on those with more power. In his concise conclusion, he takes this issue from the local level to the national level, pointing out that this is a breakdown of law and order and boldly states that instead of surrendering to a mob, people should be standing up for what is right. Boone then ends his editorial by acknowledging the opposition’s argument that the campus is peaceful now that Lucy has been suspended, but he counters it with his final sentence, stating that a terrible price was paid for that peace.

Lesson Summary

An editorial is a newspaper article written by or on behalf of an editor and it expresses an opinion about a specific issue. Good editorials have:

• An introduction that has an intriguing hook to grab the reader’s attention, a body, and a conclusion
• The opinions of the writer expressed in a professional way, avoiding name-calling and focusing on the issue without attacking individuals
• The opposition’s beliefs, and then refute it with strong facts, examples, or quotations to support the writer’s position
• A pro-active approach to making the situation better rather than simply complaining about it
• A concise conclusion that powerfully sums up the writer’s position