A real ‘problem’
Last year, the Northwestern Chronicle published a column titled “Why I Hate Black People.” Most of NU was incensed. Making fun of The Chron became more popular than ever.
Last Thursday, The Daily published a column titled “The Problem with Christianity” in which the author proclaimed, “I hate Christianity.” The Forum desk received a whopping 34 complaint letters.
The Daily made a mistake similar to The Chron’s a year ago.
The problem is not that the Christianity column was politically incorrect or presented views outside the mainstream. Rather, the column fails a basic insightfulness test. It was not intelligent or contemplative, but immature and excessively inflammatory.
This incident should not dissuade The Daily from publishing content simply because it is controversial. Newspapers must encourage the expression of unconventional opinion, even if some readers find it offensive. The column made some worthwhile points, and criticism of religion is as good a topic as any for a newspaper’s opinion section.
But no matter how difficult it is to fill the Forum page, commentary should never be published unless it is reasoned and thoughtful. “The Problem with Christianity” was neither.
Editors told me they regret their decision. Forum editor Diana Scholl said the column was “unnecessarily sensational” and “hurtful in a way I didn’t see but should have.” Ryan Wenzel, the editor in chief, noted that every viewpoint on the Forum page must “be informed and presented clearly.”
Hindsight may be 20/20, but the problems with this column should have been visible in advance.
Sub-par profiles
When you were considering how to vote in early April’s ASG election, did you turn to The Daily’s candidate profiles to help you decide?I hope not. You could have gotten better information by visiting the candidates’ own Web sites.I do not want to launch into a diatribe about the importance, or lack thereof, of ASG. Some students care about it, and some students laugh at it. Regardless, readers deserve journalism that will enable them to cast an informed vote.The Daily published seven candidate profiles, with an average word count of 471. That’s somewhat short, especially given that the profiles of the two most important candidates, Jay Schumacher and Rishi Taparia, were barely longer than average.Word count alone hardly measures journalistic quality, of course. When you look at the profiles’ content, the problem becomes more evident.I searched the profiles for information on the candidates’ platforms. I also identified fluff that provided little substance. (I excluded Josiah Jenkins’ profile because the nature of his campaign was different.)I found that the average profile contained more fluff than information on the candidate’s platform. Each article had about 132 words of fluff and 122 words on the candidate’s goals for ASG. The rest of each profile consisted of background information, such as the candidate’s prior ASG experience.In two-thirds of the profiles, information on the candidates’ platforms did not come until the second half. Not one article led with this information.Also, an April 5 article on the candidates’ debate included only 198 words on the serious candidates’ differences. Before that, the article retold some of Josiah Jenkins’ jokes.The candidates’ Web sites were more informative. Rishi Taparia’s Web site included a 1,400-word description of his platform. Jay Schumacher’s platform was 2,000 words.Next year The Daily needs to provide more information so students can cast informed votes.
Public editor David Spett serves as the readers’ representative. His opinions and conclusion are his own. He can be reached at [email protected].
