By: Joe Strupp The New York Times will add opinion pages to three of its regional weekly sections beginning Sunday, the paper announced Tuesday.
Beginning June 20, the City, Long Island and Westchester sections will include one full page featuring editorials and Op-Ed pieces, letters to the editor and a photograph or illustration, according to a release. The regional opinion pages will focus on issues of local interest and will be overseen by Gail Collins, editorial page editor.
"We are going to do New Jersey and Connecticut, hopefully, next year," said Andrew Rosenthal, deputy editorial page editor. "We wanted to look at New York to start. We thought it was a great opportunity to focus some resources on areas of editorial coverage that we have, frankly, neglected."
Rosenthal said the move is aimed at allowing the paper to comment more on issues outside of New York City, for the non-Manhattan audience. "We talk a lot about our view of the suburbs," he added. "And things we want to write about."
Editorial board members are being assigned to specific aspects of the new pages, including Carolyn Curiel, who already oversees New York City issues for the board and will be lead writer for the City weekly opinion page; Lawrence Downes, recently appointed to the board, who will be lead writer for both the Long Island and Westchester weeklies; and Eleanor Randolph, who will continue her coverage of Albany issues on all three pages. Susan Ellingwood, an editor on the Op-Ed staff, will commission and edit pieces for publication that are tailored to the interests of local readers.
"These pages will provide a new forum for opinions and ideas that pertain to regional issues," said Collins. "New York City, Long Island and Westchester are three very distinct areas with strong local leaders, institutions and identities."
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here