Opinions. Interpretations in hard news stories should be left to the readers， not expressed by the writer. When opinions are included， they should be clearly labeled as such， and the source of the opinion should be identified. Feature stories usually call for opinions， but the same care must be taken to play fair with the reader.
Opinions consist of personal viewpoints， so they cannot be proved or disproved.
However， the extent to wluch an opinion is valid can be assessed in several ways：
By determining the reliability of the person offering the opinion
By examining the data on which the opinion is based
By ascertaining the authority of the person expressing the opinion
Opinions can be hard to assess， so the careful writer always identifies the source within the article.
A. Dr. Everyman， dean of students， views students in the 1990s as better prepared for college than those of earlier decades.
B.The attending physician characterized the fugitive as extremely attractive to women.
C.The quality of education in Everytown is very low.
Such opinions can add reader interest， but the source may need to be explained further.
1. Statement A seems to be a reasonably expressed opinion， given the position of the speaker. The problem lies in his ability to express a valid opinion that relates to earlier decades. Has he held a similar position or the same position during the earlier decades? If so， then no one will question his ability to comment on earlier decades. If， however， Dr. Everyman has recently become a dean of students and has worked in student personnel administration only in the 1990s， he has no experience on which to base his comparison. If you must use his opinion and cannot find a more experienced individual， clearly indicate in the article that he is expressing an opinion based on hearsayor research.
2. Statement B may be a valid opinion if the attending physician has observed the fugitive interacting with women or if the attending physician is a woman. If either case applies， the writer should include that information. If neither case applies， then further explanation is needed to support the validity of the opinion. What qualifies the "attending physician" to come to such a conclusion? How valid is such a conclusion?
3. Statement C appears to be the opinion of the writer， because no attribution is given and no appeal is made to authority， to statistics， or to a reliable source. A statement of this type leaves a writer open to extensive criticism and requires more information to support the assertion. To place so generalized a statement in an article is more than careless; it is irresponsible.
The ability to discern the difference between fact and opinion is important in information gathering. You will save time by starting out smart， thus reducing the amount of checking and rechecking required and ensuring that articles are accurate and well-supported.
OB SERVATION
Observation skills are important in writing both hard news and feature stories. You must leave personal opinion out of hard news stories， but the inclusion of descriptive details based on your observations is vital in bringing a story to life and providing readers with a sense of immediacy. The benefit of a writer's obsefvations is that it eliminates the need to rely on possible inaccuracies in the reports of others regarding an occurrence. At the same time， a greater burden is placed on you to re-create the scene and the players.
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