Debate, letters and opinion formats

Opinion requires professional structure and a clear separation from newsroom reporting. Aeon News supports dedicated labels, URL structures, sidebars, author treatments and disclaimers for these formats.

Debate articles

Identify a debate article and assign the correct section. Debate subject can provide a more precise label. Use the byline and profile to identify the sender, including organisation or role when relevant to readers’ assessment.

Global settings provide local and English Debate labels and slugs. A section can also carry an opinion disclaimer explaining that views belong to the contributor rather than the newsroom.

Letters

Letters may form their own category or sit under Opinion. Establish a newsroom policy for names, editing, fact checking and anonymous submissions. The platform makes presentation consistent but does not replace those editorial decisions.

Short letters can use restrained dimensioning without a large image. Longer contributions may use a standfirst or fact box for context, while remaining visibly distinct from reported news.

Guest essays and analysis

Guest essays can have a dedicated label and URL structure. Newsroom analysis should be identified as analytical rather than straight reporting. A consistent lighter headline treatment may reinforce the distinction.

Personal columns benefit from the columnist format. Editorials should identify the institutional sender according to the newspaper’s policy.

Checklist

• Is the format visible before or close to the headline?
• Are the author’s role and relevant interests clear?
• Is the correct section disclaimer present?
• Do headline and image choices avoid misleading imitation of news reporting?
• Are comments and moderation appropriate for the subject?