Response to column about the Chronicle

If columnist Jesse Sleamaker were not my friend, then my visceral response would be to attack him for his angry words about the Chronicle. However, since he is, I’ll make some lighter comments in response to the few facts he used, and say some harsher words about the large conclusions he drew.

Let this sentence in Jesse’s column crystallize his thought patterns. “In the eyes of the Chronicle, it would appear that campus is overrun with student journalists engaged in the deplorable activity of accurate reporting.”

Based on the 15-minute interview I agreed to have with him, I sincerely doubt he believes the logic of his own sentence. As it were, I never thought there was a lack of responsible reporting on campus until reading about what Jesse chose to write following our conversation. Insofar as we discussed my views on campus reporting, I said something about oppressive multiculturalism, and nothing about deploring accurate journalism. His mix-up demonstrates the tragedy of preconceived ideas.

Now to his three evidence-like points.

First, using the bust of an attractive woman clothed in spring fashion in lieu of our spring redesign satirizes the use of sex as a marketing tool in popular culture; it does not confer a “feeling of desperation.”

Second, why does he relate his entire critique of our paper to the mention of an Iran petition that we have yet to even publish? His premature judgment of this story suggests a lack of thought.

Third, I’m honestly humbled by mistakenly printing The Daily editorial, and “doubly” so because I criticized this editorial in the very same issue. How did this happen? Sometimes I pre-game at the Knot for a bit too long before working on the paper.

Let me end on a positive note: Our goal is to provide students with opinions that are direct, sometimes blunt and humorous, and stories that pin down current ideological moods on campus while maintaining an authentic college feel that students can relate to, even if they disagree in viewpoint.

– Nathaniel ZebrowskiWeinberg juniorEditor in Chief, Northwestern Chronicle