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BROOM: That’s just your opinion

The Cavalier Daily’s opinion section must be more transparent about its columnists' backgrounds

First, inform

The lead editorial in The Cavalier Daily on Oct. 3, entitled “At a loss,” was devoted to exploring why there appeared to be silence from the University’s student body following the apparent homicide of Jarvis Brown, an employee at The Crossroads in O-Hill dining hall. The editorial raises important issues about the sort of community we have at U.Va. and what sort we might want to have or should have. There is implicit criticism, particularly of students at U.Va., for reacting in ways that seem very different from how they reacted to the recent deaths of other students. All of this is appropriate for an editorial in The Cavalier Daily. What is troubling, though, is the lack of news reporting prior to the publication of the editorial. There was one news piece published on Thursday, Oct. 24 that comprised 187 words. As was noted by a reader in the comments on both the news article and the editorial, Brown was shot and killed on Thursday, Oct. 17. The Cavalier Daily was a full week after the fact and offered very little information about Brown. As the major news publication at the University, The Cavalier Daily must take responsibility for informing the community, and particularly students, about events like these. As I wrote above, there are legitimate issues to explore in the ways that students respond to events like these. The first responsibility of the newspaper, though, must be to inform the readers. In the absence of that information, asking why students didn’t respond in a particular way is effectively useless; they may simply not have known.

The opinion pages

I find myself wondering about the background and qualifications for the authors of some of the opinions I read in The Cavalier Daily. In many, probably most, cases knowing an individual’s course of study or profession isn’t necessary for determining whether their view holds merit. If it is well-argued and well-supported with evidence that is trustworthy in the eye of the reader, that is enough. In some instances, though, background is important. John Connolly wrote in “Separate but legal” about his views on the legality of states establishing civil unions for same-sex couples and the legal basis for states to ban same-sex marriage. I wanted to know more about his qualifications to make legal judgments of that sort. He wasn’t simply expressing his opinion about what states should do with regard to same-sex marriage; indeed, he avoided coming to any conclusions about what states ought to do. Instead, he was writing about the law, drawing on previous cases and offering legal analysis. When the opinion pieces published in The Cavalier Daily are about topics requiring specific expertise, readers are entitled to more information about the writer.

Beyond the need for more information about writers, some columns published under the opinion page heading are labeled “opinion” while others are called “viewpoint columns.” Still others are letters to the editor, which are elevated to the status of a column. More clear information about the distinctions between these sorts of pieces would also help readers understand better the context of what they are reading.

Finally, a few times in the last several weeks opinion columns and letters to the editor have taken the form of rebuttal to a previously written piece. Russell Bogue responded to Ashley Spinks’ column about ending the practice of granting college credit for high scores on Advanced Placement tests. Assoc. Classics Prof. Gregory Hays wrote a rebuttal to Elizabeth Brightwell’s opinion about the United States’ national debt. This seems like a good use of the opinion pages to me, and I’ve found the responses as interesting as the original pieces. What do other readers think of this? Should The Cavalier Daily opinion pages publish such pieces? Please let me know via email or twitter at the addresses below.

Christopher Broom is The Cavalier Daily’s public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter @CDPublicEditor.

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