Matter of Opinion   

Former Newsday editor and reporter Nicholas Goldberg joins the Los Angeles Times as op-ed page editor.

The Los Angeles Times names former Newsday editor and reporter Nicholas Goldberg op-ed page editor. Both papers are former Times Mirror properties now owned by Tribune Co. Goldberg, 44, spent 16 years at the Long Island daily, where he was statehouse bureau chief before heading the Middle East and North Africa bureau. In 1999, he joined the world of polling and focus groups, working for political candidates as well as corporations and foundations. Being on the other side, Goldberg says, was a revelation. "A lot of what you do as a reporter is speculation and guessing...and you're constantly trying to figure out what's going on," he says. "The opportunity to watch it happen and to see strategy get made is a pretty fascinating experience. It's not always pretty." But the fascination couldn't match the pull of newspapering, which Goldberg says he missed. Though he'll be crossing another divide, the one between reporting and opinion, he's been there before--his opinion pieces have appeared in the L.A. Times, The Nation and The New Republic.