2013年1月4日,《人民日報》創辦該報首個評論版。在該版首發《致讀者》中,編輯部從作者、選題、目的等多個角度闡明了評論版的發展規劃。本文通過內容分析法,抽取2013年至2016年四年來該版發表的709篇評論為樣本,從編輯策劃與評論實踐的比較研究中探尋評論版在打造公共空間上的效果。研究發現,評論版確實在某種程度上為公眾塑造了一個漸趨開放的公共空間,促進理性表達和共識達成。

On January 4th, 2013, the People’s Daily established its first editorial-opinion page. The editorial department clarified its vision in the article "To Our Readers", which specifies its goals in the composition of authors, topic areas, and purposes. By drawing upon the 709 articles published on the page during the past 4 years ranging from 2013 to 2016 through content analysis approach, the research explores how the page tries to achieve the goals. The study finds that to a certain extent, the page has created an open public sphere for rational expression and debate, which facilitates consensus.