THE LEAD editorial today is about the goals the editors have set for the paper this semester. Look it over, because they set those goals for your benefit, to create a better, more informative, more useful product for you.
I, too, have some things I'd like to see this paper achieve.
With a new staff, a college paper can often have a rocky start at the beginning of the semester. Under the old staff all the departments seem to have been doing a fine job. Daily, there have been interesting articles, and I've learned something, too. I'd like to see this continued with a particularly in the following areas:
Appropriate article length and more stories
As much as it hurts me to say this, there should be more and shorter stories in the paper. Not every story deserves 500 words. More could be just 200 words, keep students informed of what's happening around campus, and be done quickly and easily. One of the traps student papers fall into is publishing long articles with lots of facts and details and quotes that are, well, boring. Editors need to ask themselves, would I read this article as I run to class in the morning? This way, editors could use the most precious resource they have -- reporters and photographers -- more wisely and more economically.
More focused coverage
This is a pet cause of mine, as I mentioned several times last semester. I'd love to see more pieces on a single topic within the week that the topic is relevant. Editors should brainstorm story possibilities to give readers a better understanding of a subject and try to have the articles reported and written within a tight timeframe so the story remains relevant.
For example, I'd love to have seen an article about one student's experience taking the Semester at Sea. What is it like to spend 12 weeks on a ship? What an incredible story that would have been, with ready-made graphics and photos -- maps of the journey, photos of the places the student went, horror stories and discoveries. That article could have also kept the story alive between the time the story announcing the University's partnership ran on Jan. 18 ("University to offer semester at sea program")and Friday's story about the expected dates and destinations ("Semester at Sea sets dates, ports," Jan. 27).
More storytelling
I'd love to read more stories in the paper that are engaging tales. Sometimes this means profiling a major figure on campus. Other times, it's starting off a story in a different way, by giving an anecdote or example. There aren't enough times when I'm pulled into the paper because I simply must know what will happen to the person I'm reading about.
Analysis
It's not just the who, what, where, when and how, but also the why that is needed in papers. The why is a tad lacking from the Cavalier Daily, and when it is included in stories, it often comes a bit too late in the story. Look more deeply into issues, rather than simply allowing University officials to get away with having their say via press releases. Step one is to have all the facts and bases covered. Step two is asking whether that answers all the questions readers will have. What effect will this have?
***
I'd like to explain to new readers who I am and what I do. As ombudsman, I keep an eye out for fair and balanced coverage and act as the readers' advocate. If I find ethical or professional mistakes, I try in my column to explain what went wrong and how to prevent that from happening again in the future. Also, if readers have a problem with the paper, I investigate their claims and write about my findings. You can find a more complete background on me from my first column in the online archives.
The job necessitates feedback. If you have complaints or compliments, I want to hear them. E-mail me your thoughts, whether they're about a single article or photo, or an entire area of coverage. If you have questions about why reporters or journalists do the things they do, I'm here for that, too.
Lisa Fleisher is The Cavalier Daily's ombudsman. She can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.
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