An opinion writing textbook.

FOR ALL THE JOURNALISM courses in news writing and reporting, few colleges offer anything in editorial writing. The Summer 1997 edition of The Masthead noted that six out of 10 journalism programs didn't even offer opinion writing in their regular curriculum.

Perhaps it's because so few textbooks are geared to teaching opinion writing.

Conrad C. Finks book, Writing Opinion for Impact, helps fill that need.

Fink's book is valuable for its emphasis on the need for original research in editorials. Fink cites Pulitzer winner Maria Henson in stating that editorial writers must give readers "added value" by going beyond the reporting in news articles. Of the book's 284 pages of text, nearly 100 are devoted to selecting issues, reporting, and using research to hit hard.

"In opinion writing," he says in Chapter 1, "do your reporting and research, immerse yourself in facts and conflicting views, think through the issue at hand, then step forward with courage to write, in effect, 'Follow me ... this is the way.'"

Writing Opinion for Impact includes chapters on sports editorials, arts reviews, humor, and personal columns. They seem afterthoughts, however, compared to meatier chapters on news editorials. A chapter on campus newspaper editorials offers blunt, practical advice (be news-aware, master grammar, and keep it clean, for example) and might be good to talk about earlier rather than later in a semester.

A couple weaknesses detract. Although the book is written with a nice measure of wit, it lacks graphic appeal. Quote "boxes" are set off only with rules, a small boxed label (such as "Box 3-2"), and boldface type that gets lost because it is smaller than regular text. Yes, this is a college text, but need it be so gray?

Each chapter has a bibliography, suggested readings, and questions, but alas, there is no list of suggested readings overall at the end of the book. If you want to read more on a topic, you have to check chapter by chapter.

In general, though, Fink's latest book (he's written several others, including Strategic Newspaper Management and Media Ethics) seems a valuable introduction to editorial writing for students, and is worth a reading by veteran writers. We can never be reminded too much that reporting is important in any editorial.

NCEW member Sharon Larsen is editorial page editor of The Daily News in Batavia, N.Y. Her e-mail address is [e-mail]