Dear reader,

Please take a few minutes to go with me on a guided tour of The Seattle Times editorial and op-ed pages. In this site you'll find explanations of the various elements in our daily and Sunday sections. You'll also meet the staff.

In the dozens of pages that make up each day's seattletimes.com Web site, the Editorials & Opinion channel is the one place readers will find the voice and the view of The Seattle Times. Unsigned editorials that appear with the label "Editorial" in gray above the headline are written by editorial staff members to represent the official view of the newspaper ownership, the Blethen family.

For example:

Editorial

Candor on light rail a necessity

Public trust is a fragile, precious commodity, and Sound Transit is at risk of losing its hard-earned investment. Before the major construction contracts are signed, before digging begins on the system's costly tunnels, it is time to listen to the critics, respond and re-engage in an essential public debate. This is no time to be cavalier about public outreach. [12:00 a.m. Oct. 03, 2000]

The Times presents a variety of opinions each day on the Web page labeled "Editorials & Opinion." One way to consider these articles is to think of them as falling into one of three categories:

OUR OPINIONS

Under the label "Editorial" are the daily opinions of the newspaper. These editorials are written by a staff of writers whose names appear daily at the bottom of the column. These reflect the beliefs and opinions of the writers representing the ownership - and the institutional voice - of the paper.

THEIR OPINIONS

Many of the articles appearing in the Editorial & Opinion channel are columns and essays of opinion by signed authors whose name and affiliation are shown. The writers may be syndicated columnists whose work is purchased by The Times and used regularly or occasionally by the opinion page editors. These articles will carry a label with the author's name and "Syndicated columnist." Several times a week, an op-ed (named for the printed newspaper where such articles appear opposite the editorial page) article by a guest writer is selected. These articles carry the label "Guest columnist." The articles are usually by local authors, sometimes elected office-holders, sometimes academics or specialists who write about local, topical issues. Their opinions, as well as the opinions of the columnists, are their own, and not the opinion of the newspaper.

YOUR OPINIONS

Letters from readers are among the most-valued opinions presented in the newspaper. They are comments from readers about the wide range of topics offered daily on the news and editorial pages of The Times.

Please click on the links on the left to find out more about submitting op-eds or letters to the editor, our staff and syndicated columnists, and our publication schedule.

-- Mindy Cameron, editorial page editor

Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company