As a student-run newspaper it is understandable that The Cavalier Daily focuses on events and issues within the University community. However, lately there has been an undue concentration on issues central only to the University. This is a call to expand coverage and contextualize issues on Grounds to ensure that community members have engaging and relevant material to read. It is slightly redundant to publish multiple articles on one specific topic. The Thomas Jefferson quote controversy has been granted too many headlines. The issue is important, and this critique is not to diminish either side of the argument or the validity of the conversation. Nonetheless, it does not warrant three articles on the front page of The Cavalier Daily’s website. These pieces are relatively short, and could be edited to present the entire discussion, including University President Teresa Sullivan’s response and the Student Council conversation, in one article.
Daily newspapers run by other prominent public universities could serve as helpful frameworks for this shift. The Daily Californian includes articles focused on local issues such as state grants for healthcare and the city council’s plan to handle homelessness. The University of California-Berkeley has seen a spate of bias related harassment incidents on its campus, not unlike those seen here at the University. The Daily Californian coverage highlights the far-reaching impact of the president-elect’s rhetoric and the current climate of political uncertainty when discussing these issues. The Michigan Daily, University of Michigan’s student newspaper, has a section devoted to government, which covers a range of topics such as State Senate bills about self-driving cars and in-depth coverage of the Flint water crisis. There is inherent value, not only in contextualizing events occurring on college campuses, but in covering local and state events that will have an impact on the university community at large.
There is room for reporters at The Cavalier Daily to frame information in a more productive and relevant manner. The brief coverage of sexist phone calls to the Alderman circulation desk could have been included as part of a broader narrative surrounding biased behavior in Charlottesville. The recent occurrence at Bodo’s and the University Police Department’s unprofessional use of their public address system could have been incorporated into this piece. Synthesizing this type of information would allow for more articles to be written on other topics that are pertinent to the wider community.
The University does not exist in a vacuum, nor do the students who attend it. Writing articles that focus solely on events at the University does a disservice to readers who may be looking for more insight or information. Reporting should be fair, balanced and objective, but even more than that, these stories need to be viewed through an appropriate lens. The scope of any issue should not be limited to Grounds, because our university community is nested within larger local, state and national communities. Reporting on issues outside of the proverbial “U.Va. Bubble” and providing context for events here on Grounds will give students and community members access to more comprehensive and well-rounded news coverage.
Jacquelyn Katuin is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @CDPublicEditor.
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