IN THE nine issues before Spring Break -- The Cavalier Daily did not publish the last morning before the vacation -- this newspaper published nine letters to the editor. Five of those issues, including four consecutive papers, contained no letters at all. And until I raised the subject, matters were even worse on cavalierdaily.com, where it seemed only three letters had been published over the nine issues, with a stretch of five consecutive letter-free newspapers.
"Usually," said Executive Editor Daniel Colbert, when the print edition lacks letters, "that's because . . . we haven't gotten any letters on that day." If readers are annoyed, then, that not enough letters have been published, they should write more letters --and The Cavalier Daily should look for better ways to encourage them.
Sometimes, however, the newspaper does decline to print letters. Colbert identified several reasons that can happen: Letters from Cavalier Daily reporters are not printed because people who write "objective" material for the paper are not allowed to write "subjective" material too. Letters that ought to be advertisements are not published. When there are numerous letters on the same subject, only a "representative," "well-written" few (or one) are selected. It's best if letters are around 250 words each. And letters that are not about University matters are not favored.
The newspaper welcomes letters responding to reporting and opinion writing -- including earlier letters -- it has published, Colbert said. And despite what one person implied in his e-mail to me, The Cavalier Daily would "probably be more likely," not less, Colbert said, to print a letter disagreeing with a lead editorial than one agreeing with it. Indeed, my complainant was disappointed that his letter criticizing a certain editorial was not printed, but two other letters criticizing the same editorial were printed, and that day's opinion section was full.
Nevertheless, I can see why a reader who has seen ads in the paper requesting letters and then writes one only to have it go unpublished could be, as this student was, disappointed and even suspicious. Why ask for letters if you're not going to print them? Do you really want the letters? Submitting a letter may be a reader's most direct contact with the editors, and seeing his letter ignored may lead him to think that they don't care what he thinks.
So I'd suggest that they consider responding to each individual writer saying whether his or her letter will be published and, if not, why not. This would take a little time. But it might go a long way to assuage unpublished writers' disappointment and encourage them to write again.
The dearth of letters on the Web site involved another problem, too. Some of the letters that appeared in print did not appear to be online. Operations Manager Andrew T. Baker, who runs the Web site, tells me that this resulted from a technical error he has now fixed: The order in which to list the letters was not set, and without a sequence, the site does not list them.
But Baker said the letters did actually appear, if not very visibly. The headlines for the individual letters did not appear on the right side of the page for the opinion section, but the link on the left side that just says "Letters to the Editor" did work, he said.
In the next version of The Cavalier Daily's Web site, which Baker expressed optimism will be online by the end of the semester, he wants to ensure that such problems don't arise. Meanwhile, section editors, who know best what they've run in their sections, should check the next day to make sure that everything is properly displayed on the Web site. Such a review should take only a few minutes and can be done from any convenient computer. And readers, for their part, can look harder for apparently missing content and contact the Webmaster if they notice problems. They shouldn't have to look hard for content, but until the site can be upgraded, they may find it useful.
As Baker and I have both learned from our e-mail, there is a substantial readership beyond Grounds and its immediate vicinity that follows University news through the Web site. These readers cannot reasonably get the print newspaper; The Cavalier Daily does not offer print subscriptions by mail. Moreover, the Web site is the most convenient way to access old issues of the newspaper.
Alexander R. Cohen is The Cavalier Daily ombudsman. He can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.
Editor's Note: Executive Editor Daniel Colbert did not edit this column, as it contains his quotations.
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