THE scene in Disney’s “Inside Out” might not have meant much to the kids in the movie audience, but for me, it was priceless: While riding on the Train of Thought, a character, Joy, tips over two cargo boxes, one labeled “facts,” the other “opinion.” The spilled pieces mingle, and she suggests that trying to undo the mix-up is pointless: “These facts and opinions look so similar!”

But for many readers who complained to me about a recent story on the ouster of Reddit’s chief executive officer, Ellen Pao, it’s important for news stories to keep facts and commentary separate. And, they say, in this particular story, that didn’t happen.

Some readers also objected to the sweeping changes in the story about Ms. Pao’s departure from the high-traffic site that sometimes calls itself “the front page of the Internet.” They complained that what was initially a neutral news story, which went online about 5 p.m. on July 10, morphed into an opinion piece a few hours later, with no explanation to readers. That version was what print readers saw on the front page the next morning.

And many readers disagreed with the implication of the story – that Ms. Pao was fired because of sexism rather than because she was a poor leader. The headline read: “It’s Silicon Valley 2, Ellen Pao 0: Fighter of Sexism is Out at Reddit.” (Ms. Pao lost a highly publicized sex discrimination lawsuit against a previous employer in March.)