i think this is what they call a “teachable moment.” you should have a basic understanding of how newspapers work before pontificating about them. at all major newspapers, the opinion section and the rest of the paper operate independently. you could object to all sorts of things about this arrangement—the two shouldn’t operate independently, they can’t really operate independently, etc—and all sorts of things about newspapers in general—opinion sections are stupid, the guild should have weighed in on all sorts of other issues if it’s weighing in in on this issue, etc etc—but you should have a basic grasp of what the guild’s objection is (editorial interference from the owner of the paper) and how the paper is structured before being an idiot in public about it