When Adaku Onyeka read the April 20 Daily article concerningNorthwestern’s integration of the Summer Academic Workshop, she wasupset. But after the paper printed her April 22 response to thedecision, Onyeka was angry.
“Anything that might have been borderline controversial or notpolitically correct was taken out,” said Onyeka, a Medill freshmanwho participated in the SAW program, which brings some freshmen tocampus two weeks early. “I talked about how integrating SAW was badbecause it caused alienation amongst already alienated people –and that was completely taken out.”
And though Onyeka acknowledged that she was aware of thedisclaimer that runs each day describing The Daily’s policy onediting letters, she said her experience made her skeptical of thepaper’s editors.
“I didn’t know they would change my point or weaken myargument,” she said. “It makes me feel like the newspaper has itsown agenda.”
The printed policy discloses that letters to the editor “will bechecked for authenticity and may be edited for length, clarity,style and grammar.” But a number of readers remain unaware of theimplications of such a statement — and some aren’t even aware thatsuch a policy exists.
Jesse Abrams-Morley, The Daily’s forum editor, said his deskreceives four or five letters each day and runs three or four. Butthe number of letters that can run — and at what length — iscontingent upon the space allotted for reader input.
“We run pretty much every letter we get,” said Abrams-Morley, aMedill junior. “The way (editing) works is, I’ll put the letterdown and usually I try to trim it as much as possible to keep theideas in, taking up as short a space as possible.”
Abrams-Morley also emphasized that he places a premium onconcision.
“If (readers) want to write 400- or 500-word rants about someoneelse, and we only have 250 words of space, we’re only printing 250words,” he said.
Any “unsubstantiated opinions” or “things that don’t make sense”are cut from letters, Abrams-Morley said, because, “There’s stillstandards that both we and they will be held accountable for.”
In reference to Onyeka’s letter, Abrams-Morley said a timecrunch and lack of letter space led to his decision to cut one ofher paragraphs.
“It was just a space thing, and we didn’t have much time, so wetrimmed it a bit,” he said, adding, “The views that were printedwere her views. We just didn’t print all her views. While I mayhave made the wrong decision, there was nothing inaccurate aboutit.
“You’re not entitled to a certain amount of space,” headded.
Editor in Chief Elaine Helm approached Abrams-Morley earlierthis week after receiving complaints from letter writers and guestcolumnists about “substantive changes” to pieces.
Although Helm, a Medill junior, emphasized that she thinks theletters to the editor policy is explicit enough in its currentform, she did say its interpretation widely varies from editor toeditor. And although many of The Daily’s editors are journalismmajors, letter writers are a diverse group — which means theysometimes view their writing in a different light.
“Some people emphasize one thing and when we read it, weinterpret a different meaning,” Helm said. “And people are veryattached to their specific words, so if there are changes sometimesthey react very strongly, even if we feel those changes werereasonable. I always err on the side of less editing, except forgrammatical and spelling errors.”
Although it is The Daily’s right to revise letters, it isimportant to ensure that our readers — and their opinions — willbe represented fairly.
To some extent, readers can prevent problems by submittingshort, clear letters. But the newspaper’s leaders also must assesstheir actions — and carefully toe the line between reasonableediting and unwarranted changes to opinions of The Daily’sreaders.
Public Editor Torea Frey is a Medill junior. She can be reachedat [email protected].
