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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1994)
EDITORIAL 'Insurgent’ in need of liberal support This t nivorsilv has ;i reputation, Eugene has a repu tation.. even Oregou has a reputation. And it's the same reputation in every < ase. Liberal. Progressive. Leftist. This particular political bent goes by many names, but whatever you call it. this campus is widely regarded to be its headquarters Although there are always a few pockets of conservatism to be found, the general con sensus is that this is a liberal campus in a liberal < it\ in a liberal state. Why, then, does the self-proclaimed "liberal, leftist voice" on this campus have so little to say.' The Student Insurgent, a campus public ation with a det idedlv leftward bent, has been taking a lot of heat lately. Although many of the critic isms are deserved, there is another side to the stor\ "ft takes an incredible amount of time to put together a newspaper, ospm ially in the format the Insurgent uses," Jung said in a Feb. 12 editorial responding to crit ic isms that have been leveled against the Insurgent "Needless to sa\. the energies of three staff members were not enough below these words was a cartoon crying. "Submit! Please, the Insurgent needs your submissions!" On a c ampus renowned lor being liberal, people should be lining up to contribute to the "liberal, ielt ist " voice on campus Three staff members I Where is everyone7 The Oregon Commentator, the Insurgent's conservative nemesis, boasts a staff ten times as large, flow could this happen7 Where are the liberals7 I tiny re certainty not writing mr um insurgent A quick glam n at the bank of free publications in the l-.M11 reveals plont\ of .somewhat liberal newsletters and newspapers, all apparently prospering. The Emerald editorial pages are frequently filled with letters to tin* editor and other commentaries that are liberal in slant. Clearly, liberal thinkers are still around on this campus, and a number of them are more than willing to put pen to paper. So why won't they do it for the Insurgent' Maybe liberals are unwilling to join "the establish ment” of a big-time (on campus, anyway) newspaper. Hut the Insurgent is a far cry from the establishment. They can’t even seem to establish a uniform typeface for their pages. More likely, those individuals who would normally tend to support the Insurgent have simply given up on it. Its erratic publication schedule, appalling visual design and poorly written copy all combine to make reading the insurgent a frustrating experience, even for those who would embrace the paper’s politic s. And that is a shame. In order for a worthwhile and balaiu ed exchange of ideas to take place on this i ampus. the l iniversity needs an Insurgent not just for the lib erals, but for everyone. If highlighting the Insurgent's faults can accomplish anything, it ought to influence a few more liberals to get out and do something. Liberals are supposed to be activists. Perhaps they should take action to improve the Insurgent. Oregon Daily Emerald Managing Editor Editorial Editor Graphics Editor f reeiance Editor PO 001 JIM fOGf»i£ OREGON tT4GJ The Oegon Dmty fmarafc1 it puPfcahed darfy Monday through f nday during the school reat and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co . Inc . at the University of Oregon. E ./gene Oregon The tmereid operates irxJependartBy o« the University •nth off*,m at Su<te 300 ot the Ert) Memory Union and it a member ot ttx* Associated Press The k'merakl ts private property The unlawful removal or use ot papers s proseeutable by taw Editor-In-Chief: Jafce Berg (-alley Anderson Sports Editor Steve Mms David Thorn Editorial Editor Jeff Pcfchardt Jeff Pasiay Photo Editor Michael Shmdk* Jeff Winters Supplements Editor Ka>> Soto Night Editor I dward Kloptenstem Associate Editors t dead Kiopfanstem, S/udenf Go»**■nmantr Act wfear. Rebecca Mernff Cc^nmurufy Jui»e Swans** >4ghar £ckJC*bon Administration News Staff Mandy Bawcum f* . Buchhafte* W son Chan. Dave CharPonneau Amy Colombo Jmi Davis. Meg Dadoiph. Amy Davenport. Cara Echevarria. Malta Fields. Martin EisNv Sarah Henderson. Heathen* Fimas Vm l eng t eong Manus MflisM Tnsta Noe EfasaPeth Reenstjema Robb* Reeves. I .a Sa* •» Sc oft Simonson $lephan*e Sisson Susanna Steffen*. Joi* Swansan Mch*ie Thompson Aguvar Kevm Trpp Amy Van Tuyt. Darval West Genefat Manager JixJy R*edi Advertising Director Mark Waite* Production Manager Michele Ross Advertising Sut>* Outta N*co»e Merjmark Teresa isaPeAe. Jeff Manor* Jeremy Masor Michael Mrieffe Rachael Tru« Kelsey Waken. Ang« Windhe*m Classified Eiecky March**. Hi taper Vidor s*m Tj© Tecs Distribution Andy Harvey John Long. Graham Simpson Business: Kathy Cartone Supervisor Judy Connoiiy Production Dee McCoPP. Product*** Coortknator Shawna Abate Grey Desmond Tar a Gauftney. Brad Joss. Stacy Mrtchel. Jenn.ler Roland. Naff Thangv^t. Clayton Ye* Newsroom .....346-5511 Display Advertising _.546-3712 Business Office .346-5512 Classified Advertising 346-4343 De 31 ■fi VK> vf re* .ti- %•» BjUauJk*<. Japanese 2,ero.s W'VAr WOULD MAS ft V 'i\ MAVt OOA/f 1 ooA/'r /■ ** -7 COMMENTARY The ‘Emerald’ board backs Berg By Tut: Gleason 1”^hi- On l;i tt l>mt\ Emerald is an independent student newspaper The Hoard of Directors has not and will not do anything to threaten the edi torial autonomy of the editor or the staff lake Berg is the editor He del ides the editorial < ontent of the paper and the board stands behind his det isions. regardless of the public reai tion. If Owen Brennan Rounds [OPE Feb lf>) or anyone else believes otherwise, then they haven’t been pay mg attention in the rts tint meetings of the board and they don't understand the t hallenges faring all nevvspa pers in the 1 'Kids Brennan Rounds would have us believe that the Emerald board became interested in questions of newsroom diversi ty coverage of the i ampus com munity and editorial det ision making as a result of the Nov 1!, 1993 publication of mug shots of three blai k University of Wash ington students and the protests that followed. That is simply wrong. These issues were on the board's agenda when I became the faculty representative on the board in 1991 and have remained on the agenda Every candidate for Emerald editor has been questioned at some length about his or her plans for increasing the diversity of the Emerald's news staff and about plans for covering the campus community. During each edi tor’s tenure, the Iroard has asked for reports of the success or fail ure of those plans at the month ly board meeting. Following the selection of the new editor last spring, the board entered into a long discussion about the need to provide more structure and support for the editor and other Emerald man agement personnel as they work to meet the Emerald's stated commitment to diversity. The discussions addressed issues of recruiting and retaining a more diverse student staff and train ing for all students. These disi ussions resulted in the board’s adoption of a now Diversity I’oln v at its Nov lti, 1‘Ht t moating It is modeled on the policies in pint e at /he Seat lli■ 'fames and other major daily newspapers in the United States It is in the spirit of the American Six letv of Newspaper Kditors "Project 2000" report in which the ANSI: pledged that the proportion of ethnn minori ties at daily newspapers would match the percentage m the gen eral population by the year 2000. The board and the staff are now actively engaged in imple menting the Emerald's polii \ The recent spei ml meeting of the board with representatives of student unions was part of the board's ongoing efforts to understand the issues tin- Enter aid far es and to develop new strategies to implement the Diversity Policy Contrary to Brennan Rounds’ characteriza tion, tile meeting was a very use ful disc ussion Yes. the "mug shots" were a catalyst for the meeting, but the partii ipants moved far beyond that issue Brennan Rounds would also have us believe that the board does not support lake Berg, the Emerald editor Wrong again Publishing a daily newspaper is a tough job Jake has performed well. When the board first addressed the issue of the mug shots at its Nov. lti meeting — six days before the HSU news conference — we had only one question: What decision-making process led to the publication? The board is not in the business of telling tile editor what to pub lish; however, it does have a responsibility to monitor the professional practices in the newsroom and provide the edi tor with i onstrui live feedback Were we to gather the editors of )() lending newspapers together and ask if Berg made the "right" dei ision in running the mug shots, we might very well end up with 15 saving "yes” <ind 15 saying "no." The simple answer to the question is that there is no simple answer I'he definition of "news" is not statu News organizations are always in negotiation with their publics over the question of what is or is not relevant and appropriate Given the increas ingly diverse makeup of the public s. the editor's task of mak ing "right" decisions on tight deadlines becomes more and more difficult From tnv view on the board, developing polit ies and prac tices that will support the editor as he or she confronts the chal lenge of leading a newsroom in the 1‘Mills is the best way for the board to protect and strengthen the editorial autonomy of stu dent journalists. Brennan Rounds may disagree (and I'll support his right to do so in the Emerald. The Oregon Commentator or any where else), but he'll have to do more to con vince me he's right than run around like Chicken Little yelling that the Emerald hoard is "a tool for faculty use when the masses get a bit uppity." Tim Gleason, an associate professor at the School of four nalism and Communication, is the faculty representative on the Emerald Board of Directors COMMENTARY POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commentaries from the public concerning topics of interest to the University commu nity Commentaries should lx* between 600 and 600 words, legi ble. signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style.
