Ever read the newspaper? I do at least once a week at work. I find journalism a type of art, an art form which is tricky because it requires a certain talent for holding one’s audience while giving accurate information in an interesting manor. As a Columbia Student I have a slight problem with our newspaper, The Chronicle. (I would like to note that I also have some issues with other newspapers but I’m going to stick to the Chronicle for the sake that we are all Columbia students) When I sit down with it I always give the whole paper a once over, deciding what article to read first and every time I do this, there is always something disappointing or just silly in the paper. As an example, many Decembers ago, there was an article on how to bake the perfect sugar cookie. This lack of seriousness or lack of educational importance in that article is not just limited to that one particular paper, it is in every edition of The Chronicle.
As a Columbia College student, and especially because I’m a writing student, I want the Chronicle to represent our school and me well. I feel that too often various journalists view their shorter pieces as filler and do not write about pertain topics all while using juvenile language and poorly constructed sentences or structure. Reading about ways to change up Ramen is an understandable topic to write about it but wouldn’t it be more pressing to speak about what junk food does to one’s body or about the obesity epidemic? I know, it seems like I’m being a bah-hum-bug, but I’m not Scrooge I promise. I feel strongly that if the Chronicle pressed for more out of their writers, better edited pieces, or just had a slightly more serious tone, that it would be taken more seriously and considered a better paper. I’ll still read The Chronicle as long as I’m at Columbia, and I thank and applaud those who write great informative articles, but I hope over time, I see something change before I’m graduated.
-Kelsey
I understand where you are coming from in regards to wanting a more serious newspaper for our school. While these "simpler" topics may pertain to the lifestyle of a college student, I think it is just as important to showcase the areas that our student writers do have more advanced skill and knowledge in, like you said. Possibly, there aren't enough writers on staff who have this skill or ability or perhaps it is someone above them who is limiting the quality of the paper? Just because we are young people, that has never been reason to not challenge ourselves and others with what we are capable or reading or writing. We are in fact in college. Maybe you personally joining the paper could possibly initiate some kind of change.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is typically not much substance in The Chronicle. To be honest, I have not even had an interest in picking one up in quite some time. I realized i was mostly scanning through it and finding little that actually caught my attention to read, so I figured I would leave it for those who would read it. I find it a shame that I would opt to grab a Reader or dare I say it a Red Eye to read on my train rides home over the school paper, but again in the past I have found it to be of shallow content. I hope to see a change in the Chronicle as well, but seeing that I am a junior, I don't see that happening in my time here at Columbia.
ReplyDelete-Kira
I have only read through a few editions of the Chronicle in my five years at Columbia. I have never really looked for much from it. Though I'm unexperienced, I have never seen it as anything important to read. It has always seemed very primitive and self centered compared to other publishings.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a better paper informing and reviewing art better in the community as well as starting and inspiring those conversations with some well written articles. I would still have a hard time reading this paper because l get most of my news through online worldly sources.
-Jeremy
I can understand where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteThis school has a journalism department, and the school's newspaper should reflect this profession with integrity and dignity. The Chronicle's purpose should be to inform Columbia students through articles that pertain to the college, the city, or their well-being. I can Google "sugar cookie" and find 10,000+ search results. However, I wouldn't find that abundance of information about how Columbia is spending money in the film department. That is what I would like to be reading about in The Chronicle and that's where I should look for that information.
The Chronicle should be a newspaper where journalists are proud to report the news, a preview of who will be up and coming in the journalist scene. The writers, photographers, editors, etc. should want to put out a newspaper with integrity, a newspaper that showcases their skills. Well-polished articles that inform the reader rather than entertain. That is what The Chronicle should shoot for.
- Zach Pint
I see nothing wrong with articles on how to bake the perfect sugar cookie. To me, journalism doesn't have to be hard, serious news. That's not going to appeal to the majority of readers, anyway. As long as there is a balance of entertainment and helpful information, then I don't see why that makes a newspaper any less respectable.
ReplyDeleteLauren
I have not read the Chronicle much but it sounds like it hasn't changed much in the past few years. This makes me feel that the majority of the readers enjoy the articles in the paper. I would be interested in seeing the response of the readers if the topics were more serious.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post completely and this is the exact reason that I stopped reading The Chronicle altogether. Being an audio arts & acoustics student it obviously isn't as important to me as it would be a writing major, but still I too enjoy a good informative article and would like to see some content rather than what you describe as shorter filler pieces. The reason that I stopped reading The Chronicle was because of one article in particular that ran about three years back. It was just a rant about an audio arts & acoustics teacher that obviously failed this particular student and I couldn't believe that this article was even posted. Of course I 100% believe in freedom of speech, but this was just distasteful and an obvious venting piece that should have been used as therapy for the bitter student and stowed away on their computer or sent to directly to the person intended to reach rather than public name slandering where there need not be. My only advice to you is that if you really have a problem with the newspaper and want to see a change maybe you should get on board with the newspaper and try to put in your own input, even if that means just e-mailing a teacher that is in charge and asking to step up their game or offering your help to write shorter pieces that aren't lacking- In a nice way of course!
ReplyDelete-Anastasia