One of the most important lessons seared into my mind while working towards my Communication Degree is that everyone wants to control the media. I have never had a real life experience with this lesson until I joined The Globe staff this semester. I have seen strong writers get torn a new one by people who are supposed to be nurturing and supportive. I have seen the way people try to push their story ideas on reporters and I have seen entire departments get upset about student opinions pertaining to them.
What I want to know is when did it become a reporter’s job to appease everyone?
Would people even want to read a newspaper that had no contradicting values and ideas? The Globe is filled to the brim with different kinds of writers who have different opinions, political, religious and lifestyle beliefs. The one thing that we all have in common is the firm faith that we are representing the student body.
The thing I love the most about newspapers is the variety of angles different reporters use. It keeps things fresh and helps me become more open to the idea that not everyone thinks the same way or likes the same things.
I have also learned that corporations run much of the public media. Learning about public relations has opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of the things I watch on the news or read in the newspaper were planted. I appreciate the skill it takes to twist the images and words for public perception and consumption, but I do not condone it. I want the truth about the world we are living in.
I love The Globe because it’s all truth. In our staff meetings, we collaborate on what is happening at school, in the community, and what we think students would want to hear about. None of our stories are planted in an effort to make you think one way or the other. We just want SLCC students to be informed.
Lately, a lot of staffers have been getting flack from various administrations for the way they wrote their stories or even what they wrote about. I was disappointed to hear that members of the faculty were acting so hateful towards some of the staff. I have always placed teachers on a pedestal and I firmly believe the quote from Spiderman that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” People of any kind of position, especially with others looking up to them, have a responsibility to do the right thing.
Instead of attacking the messenger and slaughtering their image on your blog or Facebook, maybe you could focus on the fact that the story was picked or written that way for a reason.
We all try our hardest to do the best job we can on gathering as much information as people are willing to give while still meeting our deadlines.
The Globe is a student run organization that does everything in its power to do the right thing. We write about what is happening and how students feel. We are a newspaper by the students, for the students.