An integral part of writing for a newspaper is knowing how and when to ask more questions, to dig deeper.
Last week the CD did quite well in this respect in some pieces, and not so much in others, which was a bit troubling in coverage of hazing and an assault.
Day-after coverage of elections throughout the Commonwealth was excellent. A piece on the Democratic net gain in the House of Delegates for the first time since 1975 demonstrated why an increase of only three seats in the House was a big deal for the Dems. Maps accompanying the jump of election stories illustrated well the voting districts throughout Virginia and how they voted party-wise, both in the Virginia House and Senate.
A Tuesday article on a bicycle-meets-automobile accident by the Newcomb garage described in detail the accident and the consequences faced by the driver of the car. It went on to refer to another recent accident in which a bicyclist was struck by a bus. So what, then, is the University doing to address bicycle traffic safety? Read through to paragraph 10 in the article, which answers that very question.
Wednesday's front page included an article on hazing allegations being levied upon Delta Sigma Phi. Though the piece featured thorough detail on the consequences faced by a hazing frat, this reader was left wondering exactly what kind of hazing the brothers are accused of committing. NBC 29 reported that a pledge "was doused in vinegar and urine." Why was this omitted from the CD? If sources would not give such detail at that point in time, the article should have mentioned so.
A front-page article last Monday described from the perspective of friends the assault of a second-year College student outside the Sigma Chi fraternity house. The story had no comment from the student's parents, and indicated no effort in contacting them. There was no comment from Sigma Chi other than its counsel's declining to comment further than "there's an ongoing investigation." Were Sigma Chi leaders contacted? Inter-Fraternity Council officials? Undoubtedly an assault that lands a student in the hospital and requires surgeries to remedy should be covered in the pages of The Cavalier Daily, but it should be done when more details from all sides can be gathered and presented.
Tuesday's Life article "Hear O Israel" was a 3,000-word-plus (way too long, frankly) article that essentially served as a mouthpiece for one student whose admittedly unique and interesting background (she served in the Israeli army before coming to the University) was detailed in a manner too one-sided. No quotes in the article come from people other than the subject, first-year College student Michal Duvdevani. This is a risky practice. In any article, even in features on single figures, multiple sources should be contacted. Making the piece more well-rounded would have been words from Duvdevani's classmates, friends, resident advisor, family, experts at the University (there are several) and/or detractors (she casually mentions a few but we read nothing further about them). The CD should have provided more background and perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to bolster the piece, as well as make it less partial.
Last week's Focus section with two articles examined disturbing trends at the University, the drop in numbers of minority faculty as well as the drop in numbers of black students attending the Law School. The first piece included Senior Vice President William Harmon'smentioning that "Most of our peer institutions are having difficulty" maintaining minority faculty. So what are the stats for our peer schools? How do they compare to the University?
The lead spot
The lead spot on a newspaper page is located in the top-right portion of the page (unless the page is an inside left-leading page). This spot is where readers' eyes generally go first. Accordingly, it is a general layout rule to lead with the text of the most important story of the page (or at least its headline). A few times this week the CD led instead with photos, which can cause some confusion. Apparently the most important part of the front page Thursday was a standalone photo of a massage therapist at the Women's Wellness Fair. The photo should have been flip-flopped with the article on Student Council election reform. A Life piece last Monday (a story, a column; I wasn't sure, as the layout was confusing) suffered from the same problem, and getting past the pictures was difficult. The story was hampered further since the text was hard to read superimposed on a dark gray box.
Last, but not least
Photographer Pat Hillegass treated readers of last Monday's CD to a stunning photo of a hot air balloon ride during Family Weekend. The picture ran as a standalone and its unique and striking perspective from immediately below the aircraft was quite pleasing to the eye.
(Emily Kane can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com)
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