Grinnell's mental health policies have been much-discussed on campus over the past day.
The S&B has no issue coming out this coming Friday due to Fall Break and mid-semester exams, but we have writers working on a story about Grinnell's mental health policies and how they affect students. Our plan is currently to run a major article in our first issue after Fall Break.
With regards to particular circumstances, at this point the S&B will respect individual privacy and not discuss particular names or events until those names and events can be directly corroborated and approved for publication by those involved. If changing situations call for it, we will post an article on the S&Blog prior to our coming issue on Nov. 2.
Showing posts with label Editorial Post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editorial Post. Show all posts
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Full spring archives posted
After great trials and tribulations, the S&B finally has full spring PDF archives posted. Enjoy--just in time for a whole new semester of issues.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Letter from the Editors
By Caitlin Carmody and Ben Weyl, Editors-in-Chief
This letter was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
When trying to think of something meaningful to say to the campus community about the tragic events of this week, we were at a loss. It’s hard to make sense of things that seem so senseless. It’s difficult to find words to talk about what we cannot wrap our heads around. The sadness and grief over Paul’s death was compounded by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Receiving such horrible news on such a beautiful spring day felt so surreal.
It’s natural to want answers and lessons from the tragedy of a fellow student’s suicide. We look for ways to understand it because dealing with such acute and collective pain can feel incredibly overwhelming.
We’ve talked to students who are experiencing guilt about Paul’s death. But the responsibility to make someone happy or to keep someone alive lies with no one person. We’ve talked to students who weren’t close to Paul and feel weird about being upset. The same applies to the heartbreak of Virginia Tech—why are some of us upset even though we may not have known anyone who died? But there is no hierarchy over claim to grief, nor a prescribed trajectory of emotional coping. Everyone responds differently to tragedy, and that’s OK.
Community is a strange creature. We are tied together by common experience, common surroundings, a common ethos. Whether or not you knew Paul, he was one of us, a Grinnellian, and the loss of a friend, peer, or community member affects us all.
This week’s coming-together, scheduled and impromptu, was a moving demonstration of how supportive this community can be. We are humbled and comforted to be surrounded by the people around us, and to live in the community we do. Ours is a campus of thoughtful, supportive, and wise individuals. We should turn to each other for comfort.
If you’re in pain, please talk to someone, be it a friend, RLC, chaplain, or walk-in counselor at the Health Center.
In the coming weeks, we encourage the community to use the S&B as a forum for thoughts, emotions and reflections about what has happened and where we can go from here.
As a community we should remember and mourn those we have lost. And we should continue to love and care for each other. It is all too easy to forget about that love and support, especially when things seem horrible, but it is there.
This letter was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
When trying to think of something meaningful to say to the campus community about the tragic events of this week, we were at a loss. It’s hard to make sense of things that seem so senseless. It’s difficult to find words to talk about what we cannot wrap our heads around. The sadness and grief over Paul’s death was compounded by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Receiving such horrible news on such a beautiful spring day felt so surreal.
It’s natural to want answers and lessons from the tragedy of a fellow student’s suicide. We look for ways to understand it because dealing with such acute and collective pain can feel incredibly overwhelming.
We’ve talked to students who are experiencing guilt about Paul’s death. But the responsibility to make someone happy or to keep someone alive lies with no one person. We’ve talked to students who weren’t close to Paul and feel weird about being upset. The same applies to the heartbreak of Virginia Tech—why are some of us upset even though we may not have known anyone who died? But there is no hierarchy over claim to grief, nor a prescribed trajectory of emotional coping. Everyone responds differently to tragedy, and that’s OK.
Community is a strange creature. We are tied together by common experience, common surroundings, a common ethos. Whether or not you knew Paul, he was one of us, a Grinnellian, and the loss of a friend, peer, or community member affects us all.
This week’s coming-together, scheduled and impromptu, was a moving demonstration of how supportive this community can be. We are humbled and comforted to be surrounded by the people around us, and to live in the community we do. Ours is a campus of thoughtful, supportive, and wise individuals. We should turn to each other for comfort.
If you’re in pain, please talk to someone, be it a friend, RLC, chaplain, or walk-in counselor at the Health Center.
In the coming weeks, we encourage the community to use the S&B as a forum for thoughts, emotions and reflections about what has happened and where we can go from here.
As a community we should remember and mourn those we have lost. And we should continue to love and care for each other. It is all too easy to forget about that love and support, especially when things seem horrible, but it is there.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Great article by alum featured in The Advocate
Check out the article "Chasing the duclod man" by Sarah Aswell '04 in the March 27 issue of The Advocate.
You can click on the title of this post to link to it.
It's a creepy, but excellent, read.
—Caitlin Carmody, Editor-in-chief
You can click on the title of this post to link to it.
It's a creepy, but excellent, read.
—Caitlin Carmody, Editor-in-chief
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The S&B Online
We appreciate everyone's patience with the lack of S&B issues online. We're currently hiring a new web editor and will have the issues up as soon as possible. In the meantime, we're going to be uploading pdfs of each issue so you can view the issues that way. Last week's issue is available at http://web.grinnell.edu/sandb/. Thanks again for your patience!
Caitlin Carmody, Editor-in-chief
Caitlin Carmody, Editor-in-chief
Friday, January 26, 2007
Black, White & Scarlet all over
After a slow winter break here at the S&Blog, we've rolled out our new design, just in time for a new semester of great "blog-sclusive" content!
Enjoy!
(Of course, no design is ever really final. Got comments on the design? Leave them on this post and we'll do the best we can to fulfill all your requests.)
Enjoy!
(Of course, no design is ever really final. Got comments on the design? Leave them on this post and we'll do the best we can to fulfill all your requests.)
Monday, December 11, 2006
New Blog Features. Don't Panic!
If you've come here only to be shocked by a blue banner don't turn around, you're at the same old S&Blog you've quickly come to love. Today, we upgraded the S&Blog to the new Blogger Beta with a few new features that we think will help you use the S&Blog much better.
On the sidebar to your right, you'll see a list of labels. From now on we'll tag each article with its section (Arts, Corrections, Editorial Posts - something from the editorial staff, like this-, Features, News, Opinions, Sports, and, maybe in the future, The Backpage). If you only want sports, only read sports. If you want opinions, read only opinions.
Furthermore, if you want to go back to articles in November, we've got a great archive section in our sidebar that allows you to browse through our previous articles in a very efficient manner.
As for the red, don't worry. It'll be back.
On the sidebar to your right, you'll see a list of labels. From now on we'll tag each article with its section (Arts, Corrections, Editorial Posts - something from the editorial staff, like this-, Features, News, Opinions, Sports, and, maybe in the future, The Backpage). If you only want sports, only read sports. If you want opinions, read only opinions.
Furthermore, if you want to go back to articles in November, we've got a great archive section in our sidebar that allows you to browse through our previous articles in a very efficient manner.
As for the red, don't worry. It'll be back.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
An Open Letter from the S&B Editors
This open letter originally appeared in the 9/29/06 issue of the Scarlet and Black.
Since Monday morning, our campus has been one person short, but we have been left with a hole that is much larger than just one person. We are all anxious, and we must deal both with Paul's disappearance and our reactions to it. The S&B is charged with documenting campus events, but at this moment, we are more than journalists covering events—we are scared and worried students grappling with uncertainty. We are all searching for the right words.
Some of those who know Paul and some of those who do not have shown their support and concern by aiding the search for him, but this highly visible effort is not the only way to help. It is okay to feel uncomfortable with searching for Paul and there are other things that need to be done on campus.
Already, many students have opened their doors, minds and hearts to help support the student body. We are encouraged by the immediate compassion that people have shown and we hope that this compassion and events like last night's open forum are only the first stage of campus-wide discussion, reflection and coming together.
Our collective conscience has been powerfully jarred. It is difficult to articulate and address exactly how we feel. It seems as though many of us are waiting for some kind of conclusion before examining our feelings, but we are all experiencing emotions right now that should not be ignored. Discussing the effects of Paul's disappearance is—simply put—a difficult necessity, and it is something that we and the college administration must do now.
For many of us, sitting in class feels utterly irrelevant knowing that a classmate and friend of ours is missing. We are worried for Paul and his family and are hoping for the best. However, continuing on with our daily lives as best we can and checking in on each other are the most immediate actions we can and should take. Trying to know how we feel is scary, but engaging the emotions and thoughts swirling through our minds is the healthiest thing we can do right now.
If you are feeling uneasy, please talk to someone. It might be a friend, a professor, an SA, an RLC or someone at the mental health center or chaplain's office, but, whoever you talk to, the important part is dealing with what has happened.
A member of our community is missing, and on a campus as small as Grinnell's, we are all affected by his disappearance. We care about each other and that makes us all involved in some way. We should not stop worrying about Paul-quite the opposite, it is impossible not to-but we should also worry about ourselves and each other.
Ask your friends how they are doing. Then, ask again.
Take care of yourself, Grinnell.
Since Monday morning, our campus has been one person short, but we have been left with a hole that is much larger than just one person. We are all anxious, and we must deal both with Paul's disappearance and our reactions to it. The S&B is charged with documenting campus events, but at this moment, we are more than journalists covering events—we are scared and worried students grappling with uncertainty. We are all searching for the right words.
Some of those who know Paul and some of those who do not have shown their support and concern by aiding the search for him, but this highly visible effort is not the only way to help. It is okay to feel uncomfortable with searching for Paul and there are other things that need to be done on campus.
Already, many students have opened their doors, minds and hearts to help support the student body. We are encouraged by the immediate compassion that people have shown and we hope that this compassion and events like last night's open forum are only the first stage of campus-wide discussion, reflection and coming together.
Our collective conscience has been powerfully jarred. It is difficult to articulate and address exactly how we feel. It seems as though many of us are waiting for some kind of conclusion before examining our feelings, but we are all experiencing emotions right now that should not be ignored. Discussing the effects of Paul's disappearance is—simply put—a difficult necessity, and it is something that we and the college administration must do now.
For many of us, sitting in class feels utterly irrelevant knowing that a classmate and friend of ours is missing. We are worried for Paul and his family and are hoping for the best. However, continuing on with our daily lives as best we can and checking in on each other are the most immediate actions we can and should take. Trying to know how we feel is scary, but engaging the emotions and thoughts swirling through our minds is the healthiest thing we can do right now.
If you are feeling uneasy, please talk to someone. It might be a friend, a professor, an SA, an RLC or someone at the mental health center or chaplain's office, but, whoever you talk to, the important part is dealing with what has happened.
A member of our community is missing, and on a campus as small as Grinnell's, we are all affected by his disappearance. We care about each other and that makes us all involved in some way. We should not stop worrying about Paul-quite the opposite, it is impossible not to-but we should also worry about ourselves and each other.
Ask your friends how they are doing. Then, ask again.
Take care of yourself, Grinnell.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Some thoughts on our role as students
Today we posted Sports Editor Pat Ritter’s response to something that ran in his section this week, a column about Grinnell's football team. Some have expressed concerns about this post appearing above the updates about Paul, which is feedback I appreciate and want to address.
While thinking about how to address these concerns, I realized we've talked to you a lot as journalists but not very much as fellow students. As a student and a member of the Grinnell community, I understand the concerns about the blog format—it feels like everyday things like football aren’t quite as important when someone from our community is still missing. I know it seems insensitive to post other things "on top of" news about something so difficult for the community this newspaper serves. Posts appear in the order they are posted, with the most recent first. It is one of the limitations of a blog, and people much technologically smarter than I am are trying to change it.
That said, I do think it’s important to try to continue with our daily lives as much as possible. For the S&B that means covering other things that are happening and other things people are thinking. Some sense of normalcy is crucial during such a difficult time, and we’re still a newspaper that covers all sorts of news and opinions—debates about football included.
But that doesn't mean we've forgotten about Paul and moved on—we haven't, and we won't. For me, reporting about Paul’s disappearance is really tough because it’s something so emotional and close to home. I can’t just put on a reporter hat and shut out how scary and worrisome this is—it’s always scary and worrisome. And all I’ve thought about this week is that if I don’t know Paul and I’m this scared and worried, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for his family and friends.
David Montgomery, our News editor and Sarah Pierce, a staff writer, have done most of the reporting about Paul’s disappearance, but when they both had class on Wednesday, I went to one of the press conferences. It was unexpectedly jarring. Logically, I know that anyone’s disappearance is news, but sometimes logic is hard to hang onto. It was so bizarre to hear reporters talk about Paul and his disappearance like it was any other news story. The reporters weren’t heartless or mean—journalism is their job, and they were just doing their job to the best of their ability. But this isn’t their school or community and Paul isn’t their classmate or friend. I don’t know Paul, but I know people who do, and Paul is a part of this tiny, tight-knit community I call home nine months of the year. We’re missing “one of our own” and the uncertainty is really hard. Technically, I was at the press conference as part of the media, but I wasn’t, fundamentally—I’m a student, and I’m completely freaked out.
As journalists, we are charged with reporting the news. But as students, providing facts and updates is also our way of helping, our joining a search party. I think we try to put on reporter hats as much as possible so we can do that job as best we can. So if we on the S&B ever seem insensitive or dispassionate in covering this story, that's why.
We happen to be student journalists and Paul’s disappearance is news, but he is not news. Paul is a peer and friend and part of Grinnell, and that is always with us.
While thinking about how to address these concerns, I realized we've talked to you a lot as journalists but not very much as fellow students. As a student and a member of the Grinnell community, I understand the concerns about the blog format—it feels like everyday things like football aren’t quite as important when someone from our community is still missing. I know it seems insensitive to post other things "on top of" news about something so difficult for the community this newspaper serves. Posts appear in the order they are posted, with the most recent first. It is one of the limitations of a blog, and people much technologically smarter than I am are trying to change it.
That said, I do think it’s important to try to continue with our daily lives as much as possible. For the S&B that means covering other things that are happening and other things people are thinking. Some sense of normalcy is crucial during such a difficult time, and we’re still a newspaper that covers all sorts of news and opinions—debates about football included.
But that doesn't mean we've forgotten about Paul and moved on—we haven't, and we won't. For me, reporting about Paul’s disappearance is really tough because it’s something so emotional and close to home. I can’t just put on a reporter hat and shut out how scary and worrisome this is—it’s always scary and worrisome. And all I’ve thought about this week is that if I don’t know Paul and I’m this scared and worried, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for his family and friends.
David Montgomery, our News editor and Sarah Pierce, a staff writer, have done most of the reporting about Paul’s disappearance, but when they both had class on Wednesday, I went to one of the press conferences. It was unexpectedly jarring. Logically, I know that anyone’s disappearance is news, but sometimes logic is hard to hang onto. It was so bizarre to hear reporters talk about Paul and his disappearance like it was any other news story. The reporters weren’t heartless or mean—journalism is their job, and they were just doing their job to the best of their ability. But this isn’t their school or community and Paul isn’t their classmate or friend. I don’t know Paul, but I know people who do, and Paul is a part of this tiny, tight-knit community I call home nine months of the year. We’re missing “one of our own” and the uncertainty is really hard. Technically, I was at the press conference as part of the media, but I wasn’t, fundamentally—I’m a student, and I’m completely freaked out.
As journalists, we are charged with reporting the news. But as students, providing facts and updates is also our way of helping, our joining a search party. I think we try to put on reporter hats as much as possible so we can do that job as best we can. So if we on the S&B ever seem insensitive or dispassionate in covering this story, that's why.
We happen to be student journalists and Paul’s disappearance is news, but he is not news. Paul is a peer and friend and part of Grinnell, and that is always with us.
Behind the news: a look into the S&B's coverage
As news editor for the S&B, I usually deal with very mundane problems. A story I had been planning on running in one week is unusable because a reporter wasn’t able to get in touch with a key source. Limited space forces me to make decisions about what articles to cut. I try to keep our political coverage as neutral as possible.
This week made all those problems seem trivial. On Tuesday morning I became aware via GrinnellPlans that Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 was missing. At that point I—and almost everyone else on campus—had no idea what lay ahead—and we still don’t. Regardless, it was something that the student newspaper should cover.
I sent out an e-mail to all our writers asking for someone to keep tabs on the search, with the end goal of writing a story for this week’s paper, and Sarah Pierce ’08 responded within minutes. But we could also do more. Paul could be nearby, in a situation where anyone could find him. But not everyone knew that Paul was missing, what he looked like or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. We are a weekly paper, but this new blog meant that we could offer news on a minute-by-minute basis. I took information from the best source then available, the Plan of Ian Lunderskov ’08, and posted it for anyone to see.
Our early postings on the blog were little more than amalgamations of rumors. Many of the initial pieces of information we posted turned out to be false leads, and we corrected those when we became aware of them. With the chance to find Paul quickly, though, the benefit from putting information up with a disclaimer potentially outweighed the harm. In the long run, though, we needed to move beyond that. Our next post was a more measured news story including input from authorities helping with the search.
At the same time that I was working on putting whatever useful information we could on our blog, I also had to do something much more unpleasant: consider the possible endings for this scenario, and how we as the student newspaper would react to each one. By the end of Tuesday, it was clear that no matter what happened, this would be the dominant story for this issue; I talked with our editors-in-chief and we decided to move our previous Page One centerpiece, an article about the Elephantitis Ultimate Frisbee tournament, back to the sports pages. I also e-mailed my editor at the Seattle Times (where I interned over the summer), Grinnell alum Kim Eckart ’92, for advice on what tone to take in our article.
By the time I started laying out this week’s S&B Wednesday night, with still no sign of Paul, I had decided to devote the entire front page to this story. Everything else was just less important. A couple of articles I had been planning on running this week were pushed back. I also sat down with Sarah Pierce and we outlined what we would do under different scenarios.
We also made another key decision Wednesday night about what not to publish: the information that Sarah had learned of a note that Paul left behind. Grinnell Police Chief Jody Matherly had told reporters that Paul was “despondent” before disappearing, and we also knew that Paul’s family had asked that the note not be publicized. We decided to respect their wishes.
The Des Moines Register made a different decision. Finding out about the note in the same way we did, they published its existence in a headline and the first sentence of a front-page story. Local—and national—TV news also broadcast the note’s existence. The other S&B editors and I quickly revisited our decision. We still respected the parent’s wishes, but the news had broken. We decided that with the news out there, it was better that Grinnell students find out from us than from the Des Moines Register. But concerned about the ramifications of publishing such sensitive information, we called a number of experts around the area, including an RLC, Director of Communication Kate Worster Foster ’87, Tom Crady, the Health Center, the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center and the mother of one of our editors, who is a professor of journalism ethics. Not everyone was there when we called, but those we were able to reach supported our decision with some revisions. We made those, ran our post past everyone, and then published the existence of the note on our blog.
We’ll continue to cover this story as it breaks, and hope for a happy ending. We’re very conscious of the dual role we must play as a newspaper reporting facts and as members of the Grinnell community sensitive to community needs. We hope to fulfill those responsibilities as best we can. Any concerns or comments that readers have are welcome.
This week made all those problems seem trivial. On Tuesday morning I became aware via GrinnellPlans that Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 was missing. At that point I—and almost everyone else on campus—had no idea what lay ahead—and we still don’t. Regardless, it was something that the student newspaper should cover.
I sent out an e-mail to all our writers asking for someone to keep tabs on the search, with the end goal of writing a story for this week’s paper, and Sarah Pierce ’08 responded within minutes. But we could also do more. Paul could be nearby, in a situation where anyone could find him. But not everyone knew that Paul was missing, what he looked like or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. We are a weekly paper, but this new blog meant that we could offer news on a minute-by-minute basis. I took information from the best source then available, the Plan of Ian Lunderskov ’08, and posted it for anyone to see.
Our early postings on the blog were little more than amalgamations of rumors. Many of the initial pieces of information we posted turned out to be false leads, and we corrected those when we became aware of them. With the chance to find Paul quickly, though, the benefit from putting information up with a disclaimer potentially outweighed the harm. In the long run, though, we needed to move beyond that. Our next post was a more measured news story including input from authorities helping with the search.
At the same time that I was working on putting whatever useful information we could on our blog, I also had to do something much more unpleasant: consider the possible endings for this scenario, and how we as the student newspaper would react to each one. By the end of Tuesday, it was clear that no matter what happened, this would be the dominant story for this issue; I talked with our editors-in-chief and we decided to move our previous Page One centerpiece, an article about the Elephantitis Ultimate Frisbee tournament, back to the sports pages. I also e-mailed my editor at the Seattle Times (where I interned over the summer), Grinnell alum Kim Eckart ’92, for advice on what tone to take in our article.
By the time I started laying out this week’s S&B Wednesday night, with still no sign of Paul, I had decided to devote the entire front page to this story. Everything else was just less important. A couple of articles I had been planning on running this week were pushed back. I also sat down with Sarah Pierce and we outlined what we would do under different scenarios.
We also made another key decision Wednesday night about what not to publish: the information that Sarah had learned of a note that Paul left behind. Grinnell Police Chief Jody Matherly had told reporters that Paul was “despondent” before disappearing, and we also knew that Paul’s family had asked that the note not be publicized. We decided to respect their wishes.
The Des Moines Register made a different decision. Finding out about the note in the same way we did, they published its existence in a headline and the first sentence of a front-page story. Local—and national—TV news also broadcast the note’s existence. The other S&B editors and I quickly revisited our decision. We still respected the parent’s wishes, but the news had broken. We decided that with the news out there, it was better that Grinnell students find out from us than from the Des Moines Register. But concerned about the ramifications of publishing such sensitive information, we called a number of experts around the area, including an RLC, Director of Communication Kate Worster Foster ’87, Tom Crady, the Health Center, the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center and the mother of one of our editors, who is a professor of journalism ethics. Not everyone was there when we called, but those we were able to reach supported our decision with some revisions. We made those, ran our post past everyone, and then published the existence of the note on our blog.
We’ll continue to cover this story as it breaks, and hope for a happy ending. We’re very conscious of the dual role we must play as a newspaper reporting facts and as members of the Grinnell community sensitive to community needs. We hope to fulfill those responsibilities as best we can. Any concerns or comments that readers have are welcome.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Musings on Political Reporting
For any newspaper, reporting on politics is a tricky business. How does a news article (or series thereof) stay objective in an environment where every fact is spun? This is more than just equal time. As our politically-involved Editor-in-Chief Ben Weyl argues, equal time can be unfair when the facts clearly favor one position. But our own biases color what we see as facts. And Grinnell is a very liberal campus, where many people take for granted some facts that others dispute.
The S&B is not a partisan newspaper. Our editorial coverage will take positions, and if we do endorsements will probably endorse all Democrats. (As News Editor supervising our coverage of local political races, I'll abstain from editorial decisions and debates about political races to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.) Further, the issues that we choose to cover—issues like gender, sex, racial justice, poverty, and social action, to name a few—betray our implicit biases. A politically conservative reader looking through an S&B could with complete justification pick out ways in which we make value judgements based on what we cover and the tone we take in our stories. But we're a campus newspaper, and we'll cover campus issues, which tend to be liberal. We're not going to change to try to impose a false political balance on this campus. We do need to acknowledge where we're coming from, though.
My number one concern in editing political stories is to get past those implicit biases and deliver news in as objective a way as possible. I work with our writers, drawn from the same overwhelmingly liberal student body as I am, to parse sentence by sentence and eliminate statements that display bias.
An example:
In our first piece of political coverage this year, we did a breakdown of the positions of the two candidates for the Iowa House of Representatives in our district. Our writers sat down with Danny Carroll, the Republican incumbent, and Eric Palmer, his Democratic challenger, and got them to explain what they believed and what they'd do if voters sent them to Des Moines.
This particular election is a rematch from two years ago, when Carroll barely one. That election touched directly on Grinnell College, because of a mailing from the Iowa Republican Party in support of Carroll that attacked Grinnell students' voting in Iowa. The mailing also used images of Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to describe the campus as "1000 East Coast liberals." In the aftermath of that mailing, Carroll apologized for the portrait of Grinnell's overwhelmingly midwestern student body but insisted that he wasn't involved in that mailing.
Now, that's the background. The question that I as an editor (and other editors I consulted about this) faced was, to what degree is this a relevant piece of information for an article about THIS election? We came to several conclusions:
• With the same two candidates running this year as last election, their previous matchup is important to provide context for the half of our student body who weren't around in 2004.
• As a campus newspaper, the mailing is still relevant because the issue of out-of-state students voting in their college town is still contentious. It's a way that the election directly touches the Grinnell student body.
• To touch on the mailing without context would be unfair to Carroll. By presenting it as a "Republicans vs. Grinnell College students" issue, the carefully laid out policy positions elsewhere in the article would be meaningless. It would make voting a personal matter for students who felt threatened as political actors by Carroll. (That's not to say that students should or shouldn't take the mailing personally. It's just not our job as newspaper to incite opinions either way.)
• Placement matters. We debated whether the mention of the mailing should go at the top of the article or at the bottom. On one hand, the mailing was a subsidiary issue to what we hoped to do in the article (explain policy positions), and should therefore be placed at the end of the article. On the other hand, it's bad writing to introduce the election, explain the candidates positions on the issues, and then say "Oh by the way" and bring in the election from 2004. Still, to put the mailing at the top of the article would privilige it over the here-and-now facts.
The decision we made was to run it at the top of the article, after the basic framing of the case and immediately before we launched into the issues. We expanded the one paragraph dealing with the article in the initial draft into two, placing it in a "horse race" context: yes, the Republicans are opposed to all these liberal college students voting in Grinnell, because it's a political threat to them. The Democrats, on the other hand, try very hard to encourage college students to vote in Grinnell because they see political advantage in it. Many students may still take that personally, but our presentation of it was in neutral terms as each party trying to maximize their share of the vote.
A long way to go
Obviously, our political reporting isn't very sophisticated yet. We make mistakes. I let phrases and quote selections slip through that favor the Democrats. And absolute objectivity is impossible. All we can do is constantly be aware of our biases and try to adapt to them.
It's a great thrill to be able to have the opportunity to cover political races as a college newspaper. Local politicians of both parties are very obliging in taking time out to sit down with reporters from a newspaper that covers around 2,500 readers who've likely already made up their minds as to which side they'll vote for. We understand that, and hope to simply inform those readers as best we can about issues that affect them as students and citizens.
Comments are welcome.
The S&B is not a partisan newspaper. Our editorial coverage will take positions, and if we do endorsements will probably endorse all Democrats. (As News Editor supervising our coverage of local political races, I'll abstain from editorial decisions and debates about political races to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.) Further, the issues that we choose to cover—issues like gender, sex, racial justice, poverty, and social action, to name a few—betray our implicit biases. A politically conservative reader looking through an S&B could with complete justification pick out ways in which we make value judgements based on what we cover and the tone we take in our stories. But we're a campus newspaper, and we'll cover campus issues, which tend to be liberal. We're not going to change to try to impose a false political balance on this campus. We do need to acknowledge where we're coming from, though.
My number one concern in editing political stories is to get past those implicit biases and deliver news in as objective a way as possible. I work with our writers, drawn from the same overwhelmingly liberal student body as I am, to parse sentence by sentence and eliminate statements that display bias.
An example:
In our first piece of political coverage this year, we did a breakdown of the positions of the two candidates for the Iowa House of Representatives in our district. Our writers sat down with Danny Carroll, the Republican incumbent, and Eric Palmer, his Democratic challenger, and got them to explain what they believed and what they'd do if voters sent them to Des Moines.
This particular election is a rematch from two years ago, when Carroll barely one. That election touched directly on Grinnell College, because of a mailing from the Iowa Republican Party in support of Carroll that attacked Grinnell students' voting in Iowa. The mailing also used images of Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to describe the campus as "1000 East Coast liberals." In the aftermath of that mailing, Carroll apologized for the portrait of Grinnell's overwhelmingly midwestern student body but insisted that he wasn't involved in that mailing.
Now, that's the background. The question that I as an editor (and other editors I consulted about this) faced was, to what degree is this a relevant piece of information for an article about THIS election? We came to several conclusions:
• With the same two candidates running this year as last election, their previous matchup is important to provide context for the half of our student body who weren't around in 2004.
• As a campus newspaper, the mailing is still relevant because the issue of out-of-state students voting in their college town is still contentious. It's a way that the election directly touches the Grinnell student body.
• To touch on the mailing without context would be unfair to Carroll. By presenting it as a "Republicans vs. Grinnell College students" issue, the carefully laid out policy positions elsewhere in the article would be meaningless. It would make voting a personal matter for students who felt threatened as political actors by Carroll. (That's not to say that students should or shouldn't take the mailing personally. It's just not our job as newspaper to incite opinions either way.)
• Placement matters. We debated whether the mention of the mailing should go at the top of the article or at the bottom. On one hand, the mailing was a subsidiary issue to what we hoped to do in the article (explain policy positions), and should therefore be placed at the end of the article. On the other hand, it's bad writing to introduce the election, explain the candidates positions on the issues, and then say "Oh by the way" and bring in the election from 2004. Still, to put the mailing at the top of the article would privilige it over the here-and-now facts.
The decision we made was to run it at the top of the article, after the basic framing of the case and immediately before we launched into the issues. We expanded the one paragraph dealing with the article in the initial draft into two, placing it in a "horse race" context: yes, the Republicans are opposed to all these liberal college students voting in Grinnell, because it's a political threat to them. The Democrats, on the other hand, try very hard to encourage college students to vote in Grinnell because they see political advantage in it. Many students may still take that personally, but our presentation of it was in neutral terms as each party trying to maximize their share of the vote.
A long way to go
Obviously, our political reporting isn't very sophisticated yet. We make mistakes. I let phrases and quote selections slip through that favor the Democrats. And absolute objectivity is impossible. All we can do is constantly be aware of our biases and try to adapt to them.
It's a great thrill to be able to have the opportunity to cover political races as a college newspaper. Local politicians of both parties are very obliging in taking time out to sit down with reporters from a newspaper that covers around 2,500 readers who've likely already made up their minds as to which side they'll vote for. We understand that, and hope to simply inform those readers as best we can about issues that affect them as students and citizens.
Comments are welcome.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Another Great Issue
Hello faithful readers of the S&Blog,
Wanted to let you know that our first three issues are all now online and remind you that our latest issue is hot off the presses and located conveniently, as always, in Crady Mail Services (ie the post office).
This issue is jam-packed with goodness. And when I say jam-packed, I mean it. Normally we put out a 12 page newspaper, but we had so much content this week that we bumped it up to 16. So enjoy those four extra pages, no extra charge.
Here's a quick run-down of this week's paper:
In News, we say goodbye to Pip Gordon and Eric Stabb, while welcoming Rabbi Daveen Litwin and Pepsi-Cola. Also in News, you'll find some strong political reporting of the recent Harkin Steak Fry, as well as a pair of article son the campus center, specifically on Out Takes (first reported right here) and the possible pub-holding basement.
Arts gives us a nice look at the sketchy alums, er, 9th semester art interns, as well as returning Grinnellian John Chavez '05 who will be playing on Sunday with his band, The Punks. Also in Arts: movie reviews, how to download music at Grinnell, the a cappella scene, and a really, really good Review Corner piece by English Prof Khanh Ho. Definitely check that one out.
Features boasts the first double-truck (two page spread in middle of paper) of the year with a fascinating study of safe sex practices on campus. Kudos to writers Amy Levin, David Logan, and Tiffany Au as well as Features Editor Abby Rapoport and Graphics Editor Mark Root-Wiley. These people really worked their asses off on this and it shows. Besides, with quotes like "The worst STD you can get [at Grinnell] is a kid" and "I should use condoms when giving oral sex, but the risk factors are so low and the taste of latex sucks" you know you are in for a great piece. (What can I say, sex sells.) Features also has an interesting piece on the divide between international and domestic students. This is a really important issue that not enough people seem to think about. A Day in the Life of the always adorable Emma Lawler rounds up the Features section.
We finally received some Letters to the Editor (on the hot topics of Sri Lanka and Israel), so check them out in this week's Opinions section. You can also find a terrific cartoon by Asia Sample. She has produced great stuff every week so far, so let's hope she keeps it up. Also in Opinions are the usual bag of goodies: Sudoku, Snedge, and a nice Overheard quote concerning Al Gore and Lindsay Lohan. But perhaps the best parts -- at least in my opinion -- are the two biweekly columns. Molly Rideout's is bitingly funny and Brendan Mackie's is thoughtful as always. With those two, plus Lindsay Dennis' humor and Sheahan Virgin's political musings, in addition to Leigh Kunkel's blog-sclusive column, I think I can say with some confidence that we have the best S&B columnists in years.
Sports sports articles on the male and female cross-country teams, just coming off a huge victory, which made front page news of last week's S&B. We've also got a couple of great stories on the women's tennis and men's soccer teams, who after a somewhat rocky start, have really kicked their games up a notch. Also included is an article on the football team's loss. While offense seems to be doing alright, defense seems to be "one step off" according to one player.
Finally, the Back Page (the best thing since the front page) rocks out with probably it's finest showing since its debut two weeks ago. Photo of the week goes to Calvin Heiling for his picture of students flying on the homemade swing that was mysteriously cut-down. Arbitrary Analysis gives thumbs up to the NOJO, thumbs down to the hockey mask assailants, and a half-and-half to Outtakes. A hilarious blast from the past from Freeda Brook, plus some rants, and an excerpt from Paul Kramer's comment from the S&Blog.
To be honest, this post went a little longer than I intended. I'll make it shorter next time. And sorry for all that gushing (don't I sound like a proud parent), but I think if you read this week's issue, you'll know why the title of this post is "Another Great Issue."
Happy Friday!
Wanted to let you know that our first three issues are all now online and remind you that our latest issue is hot off the presses and located conveniently, as always, in Crady Mail Services (ie the post office).
This issue is jam-packed with goodness. And when I say jam-packed, I mean it. Normally we put out a 12 page newspaper, but we had so much content this week that we bumped it up to 16. So enjoy those four extra pages, no extra charge.
Here's a quick run-down of this week's paper:
In News, we say goodbye to Pip Gordon and Eric Stabb, while welcoming Rabbi Daveen Litwin and Pepsi-Cola. Also in News, you'll find some strong political reporting of the recent Harkin Steak Fry, as well as a pair of article son the campus center, specifically on Out Takes (first reported right here) and the possible pub-holding basement.
Arts gives us a nice look at the sketchy alums, er, 9th semester art interns, as well as returning Grinnellian John Chavez '05 who will be playing on Sunday with his band, The Punks. Also in Arts: movie reviews, how to download music at Grinnell, the a cappella scene, and a really, really good Review Corner piece by English Prof Khanh Ho. Definitely check that one out.
Features boasts the first double-truck (two page spread in middle of paper) of the year with a fascinating study of safe sex practices on campus. Kudos to writers Amy Levin, David Logan, and Tiffany Au as well as Features Editor Abby Rapoport and Graphics Editor Mark Root-Wiley. These people really worked their asses off on this and it shows. Besides, with quotes like "The worst STD you can get [at Grinnell] is a kid" and "I should use condoms when giving oral sex, but the risk factors are so low and the taste of latex sucks" you know you are in for a great piece. (What can I say, sex sells.) Features also has an interesting piece on the divide between international and domestic students. This is a really important issue that not enough people seem to think about. A Day in the Life of the always adorable Emma Lawler rounds up the Features section.
We finally received some Letters to the Editor (on the hot topics of Sri Lanka and Israel), so check them out in this week's Opinions section. You can also find a terrific cartoon by Asia Sample. She has produced great stuff every week so far, so let's hope she keeps it up. Also in Opinions are the usual bag of goodies: Sudoku, Snedge, and a nice Overheard quote concerning Al Gore and Lindsay Lohan. But perhaps the best parts -- at least in my opinion -- are the two biweekly columns. Molly Rideout's is bitingly funny and Brendan Mackie's is thoughtful as always. With those two, plus Lindsay Dennis' humor and Sheahan Virgin's political musings, in addition to Leigh Kunkel's blog-sclusive column, I think I can say with some confidence that we have the best S&B columnists in years.
Sports sports articles on the male and female cross-country teams, just coming off a huge victory, which made front page news of last week's S&B. We've also got a couple of great stories on the women's tennis and men's soccer teams, who after a somewhat rocky start, have really kicked their games up a notch. Also included is an article on the football team's loss. While offense seems to be doing alright, defense seems to be "one step off" according to one player.
Finally, the Back Page (the best thing since the front page) rocks out with probably it's finest showing since its debut two weeks ago. Photo of the week goes to Calvin Heiling for his picture of students flying on the homemade swing that was mysteriously cut-down. Arbitrary Analysis gives thumbs up to the NOJO, thumbs down to the hockey mask assailants, and a half-and-half to Outtakes. A hilarious blast from the past from Freeda Brook, plus some rants, and an excerpt from Paul Kramer's comment from the S&Blog.
To be honest, this post went a little longer than I intended. I'll make it shorter next time. And sorry for all that gushing (don't I sound like a proud parent), but I think if you read this week's issue, you'll know why the title of this post is "Another Great Issue."
Happy Friday!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Commenting
The S&Blog is off to a terrific start and Leigh's column in particular seems to be generating some great discussion. One suggestion: don't comment anonymously.
Yes, the internet has a great memory and once you write something on it, it is there forever. But that shouldn't stop you from attaching your name to innocuous comments like, "I concur." It's great that people have opinions but they should also feel confident enough to own them. Furthermore, people should know that every comment is vetted and confirmed by the S&B. Deliberately hurtful or nasty comments won't get published, anonymously or not.
Finally, though this is on the world wide web, remember that it is still a Grinnell entity. Kudos to Renata Sancken and kramerpa for their additions to the Grinnell dialogue, because that's what this is. Like letters to the editor or random rants, this is a great way to talk back to the S&B and to Grinnell College as a whole. Exceptional comments, in fact, will be published in the print edition of the S&B, and we are much more disposed to publishing something with a name attached to it.
Thanks for reading and we look forward to some great commenting ahead.
Yes, the internet has a great memory and once you write something on it, it is there forever. But that shouldn't stop you from attaching your name to innocuous comments like, "I concur." It's great that people have opinions but they should also feel confident enough to own them. Furthermore, people should know that every comment is vetted and confirmed by the S&B. Deliberately hurtful or nasty comments won't get published, anonymously or not.
Finally, though this is on the world wide web, remember that it is still a Grinnell entity. Kudos to Renata Sancken and kramerpa for their additions to the Grinnell dialogue, because that's what this is. Like letters to the editor or random rants, this is a great way to talk back to the S&B and to Grinnell College as a whole. Exceptional comments, in fact, will be published in the print edition of the S&B, and we are much more disposed to publishing something with a name attached to it.
Thanks for reading and we look forward to some great commenting ahead.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Welcome
Welcome to The S&Blog, the official weblog of The Scarlet & Black, Grinnell College's student newspaper. For years, we have been telling Grinnell's stories in print. Having entered the 21st century, we figured it was time to get a blog.
Too often news breaks on a Friday and we have to wait a week before we can report those stories. Sometimes we're scooped by Plans; other times false rumors run wild, when a quick phone call to Tom Crady could have the situation cleared up in no time. Our blog will be a way to report on stories as they develop, as well as focus on issues that may not have room in the print edition. The blog will also be a great way to further open the lines of communication with our readers, allowing you to comment on stories and offer feedback.
Keep an eye out for news analysis, original reporting, a bi-weekly opinion column, and much more.
Enjoy!
Ben Weyl and Caitlin Carmody
Editors-in-Chief
Too often news breaks on a Friday and we have to wait a week before we can report those stories. Sometimes we're scooped by Plans; other times false rumors run wild, when a quick phone call to Tom Crady could have the situation cleared up in no time. Our blog will be a way to report on stories as they develop, as well as focus on issues that may not have room in the print edition. The blog will also be a great way to further open the lines of communication with our readers, allowing you to comment on stories and offer feedback.
Keep an eye out for news analysis, original reporting, a bi-weekly opinion column, and much more.
Enjoy!
Ben Weyl and Caitlin Carmody
Editors-in-Chief
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