The Editorial department publishes the editorials, letters to the editor and opinion pages. So as not to compromise the objectivity of the news department, the editorial staff operates independently; its editor, Fred Hiatt, reports directly to The Post's chairman, Donald Graham.

The editorial board meets daily to discuss issues and plan the unsigned editorials that present the newspaper's views on matters of local, national and international concern.

The opinion page publishes pieces by both regular columnists and guest contributors. Like the editorial page, the opinion page appears every day. On Sundays, the department publishes an extra opinion page, Close to Home, that emphasizes issues of local interest.

Letters to the editor also appear every day; they are meant to reflect a wide range of reader opinion and to allow readers to comment on Post coverage. On Saturdays, an extra letters page, Free For All, gives readers more room to talk back.

Until his death in 2001, Herblock was the Post's editorial cartoonist. He drew cartoons for the Post since 1946 and won four Pulitzer Prizes.