EHgnaa
SOUND OFF results
THE FINE
PRINT
BY PAT MALACH
Results from the Emerald'»
"Sound Off" survey are
in. The campus-wide
questionnaire was published in
the paper May a. ti. 7 and 8. Al
though there wore about 10,000
copies primed each day. only w people look me nine 10 mi in urui
relurn the surveys.
Considering the amount of criticism thu Emerald receives on a
daily basis, this is a little hard to understand,- but we do appreciate
those pooplo who found time in their busy schedules to offer input
about the campus dally.
There were many valid critiques voiced about the fc'meraWs cov
erage. and believe it or not. not all of the comments were negative.
One of the most common complaints was that Emerald articles
hinged on the naive side of reporting because writers were not crit
ical enough of their sources. This is not the first time this criticism
has been voiced by our readers and by professionals who conduct
workshops with us One of the best ways to deal with this problem
is to stress to our reporters to check their facts. We simply cannot
write down everything pooplo say A little skepticism can go a long
way when gathering information.
Another common complaint is that iho Emerald often seems
more like a press release for speakers, panel discussions, sympo
siums. etc., and it is not a true nowspaper. There is certainly some
validity to this claim. We often fail into the rut of trying to give
equal coverage to all events on campus. Unfortunately, the paper
does not have the available space or resources to cover every event
on campus and still report "news.”
in this regard, the Emorald operates much like "real-world” cor
porate newspapers. Small staffs are kept busy cranking out copy to
"feed the monster" — us one veteran reporter for The Kogister
Cuard calls It — and the In-depth stories that take more time io dig
up are left unattended.
One of my main goals for next year's Emerald Is to try to break
out of this rut li will mean that as editors, wo will need to Ixi in
better touch with what our readership wants and needs from the
paper. To use a journalism cliche, we ll have to tx' tidier gatekeep
ers.
According to the survey, we need to do a better job of covering
the ASIJO, the Incidental Fee Committee. Measure 5 results, fat ui
ty and staff issues, and one of the biggest concerns, more entertain
ment coverage.
i also believe by getting more people involved in our freelance
writer system, we can free up time for our reporters urui associate
editors it) go after the "bigger” stories It's super easy to gel in
volved with writing for the paper on .1 freelance basis. Jusi come up
and talk to the freelance editor next full
Two people mentioned coverage of national and international
news One person wanted more, the other wanted less.
And of course, there were many complaints to the effect that
"You haven’t covered my particular group enough "
Ironically, for all the complaints we receive about our coverage
of diversity issues, only two of the 19 people who filled out the
questionnaire fell the Emerald had hindered diversity.
Again, thanks go out to those who lixik part in the survey. And
to those constant Emerald detractors Next time we offer Iho chant e
lo bitch and moan (or, God forbid, commend us), take us up on it
You might find thul we're actually paying attention
I’ut Malai h will he editor of the I'l'tJ 'l t Finer,1 id
THE FAR SIDE By GARY LARSON
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■gas <
■ i ■ » ! I . ..■■■
Abraham Lincoln s first car
Advertise m the Emerald
' TO ALL OF OUR GAY AND LESBIAN FRIENDS '
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ot your delivery or pickup time'
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