Bugaboos and Bright Sparks

When I pick up a fresh issue of The Picket, I have a typical reaction.

At first, I go: Wow! The Picket!

Eagerly, I scan the front page and flip through the sections.

Then I’m, like: Whoa…. The Picket….

The thrill is not gone. But journalism comes without guarantees.

Since some time in the last century, I have been serving as faculty adviser to this student newspaper. Contrary to the assumptions of many, I am not responsible for what gets published. In fact, like everyone in the general public, I see the paper for the first time only when it hits the news-stands.

There is neither prior-review nor prior-restraint for what goes in The Picket.

It has to be that way. Otherwise, students would lack freedom of the press, as guaranteed in the First Amendment and backed up by many court cases.

I used to tear my hair out because of The Picket.

Eventually, I stopped. By then, my hair was gone.

If anyone tries to deny their freedom of expression, I will do everything in my power to defend the students’ constitutional right to be wrong.

Even The New York Times and Washington Post regularly print corrections for the errors they inadvertently make. That is why they say journalism is the first draft of history. It is only the first draft.

The difference in a student publication is that errors should be not only corrected but expected as part of the learning experience.

Yet I still hope that learning from our mistakes can sometimes be possible.

Certain kinds of mistakes can never be excused: misspelled names, inaccurate information, mixed up attributions. These require corrections to be printed in the following issue of the publication.

But I also have a long list of pet-peeves that occur as the common mishaps of even experienced journalists, not to mention those with less experience.

Buried news leads, hiding the most relevant information half way through or near the end of an article, will always drive me to distraction.

Long rambling quotes also give me pain. Just because somebody said something does not mean it should be printed to waste time and space.

Finally, worst of all, opinions of the writer do not belong in news stories. All articles need multiple sources. The reporter should not be one of them.

These Bugaboos of Bad Journalism are not going to disappear, I realize, but I am not going to make peace with them either.

On the other hand, there are also hopeful elements in the bigger picture of student journalism in general and, specifically, in each issue of The Picket.

Student journalists give a lot of time and effort to putting out The Picket. Hard work and devotion to pursuit of the truth goes into every issue.

The editors, writers, photographers and layout people are the Bright Sparks who deserve the respect and gratitude of all the readers of The Picket. They represent the voice of the student body.

In order to make the Orientation Issue available to incoming students, the newspaper staff had to cut into their summer break.

Anyone who would like to contribute to their collective effort should send a message to pickweb@shepherd.edu or simply show up at the regular Tuesday meeting at 3:15 p.m. in the Blue-Grey Room of the Student Center.

Everyone is Welcome!

-published in The Picket 13 Aug. '09