Chapter three goes into greater detail about the reporter skills necessary to be a good editorialist, and the differences in news values between a good straight news story and a good editorial.
The same values apply to each: impact, proximity, conflict, prominence and timeliness. However, timeliness has less value in an editorial than a spot news story.
A case study mentioned in the chapter about domestic violence emphasizes this point. The story of Jeanmie Purcell's murder was quickly reported, but a larger editorial about domestic abuse in Kentucky written by Maria Henson was not published until 13 months later after extensive research and interviews had been conducted.
The next tip listed in the chapter was going directly to sources for facts.
The internet and secondary sources (such as newspaper morgues) are unreliable as the information they contain may have errors. The best way to find solid facts is through interviews and primary source research while keeping the focus of the editorial on people.
The final topic of the chapter was on challenges the newspaper media faces. The general public views the media to be primarily liberal (or in some recent cases very right-wing).
This causes mistrust in the public, and causes doubt on whether a reported can rise above his or her political views when writing a story. Added to this difficulty is the trouble some people have in differentiating between straight news articles and opinion pieces.
The best way to counter these obstacles is through balanced views of issues while not pulling punches.
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