Dictionary.com defines “gloating” as “expressing great, often malicious, pleasure or self-satisfaction.” There. I already took care of it. Please, don’t have your boss, girlfriend, or student completing her master’s degree at Quinnipiac send me any more lists of definitions, organizational propaganda, or sob stories of best friends. This is the end of the line. And we can’t print your editorial speculating on what I did in high school one and a half months late either. Something about timeliness – I don’t recall exactly what. I’m told I was absent for a lot of Journalism 160. Thanks for the interest, though.
Throughout the past year, I have had the luxury of contributing an occasional piece to this paper that manages, without fail, to get some of you all riled up. I have been accused of making things up, of not checking my facts and attacking the wrong department. I’ve been told to “lighten up,” but the last time I took something seriously was sophomore year. I’ve been called several uninventive names, but only two people actually called me cocky. What’s the deal?
It is heartening, however, to see how many people on this campus read the newspaper that the 14 editors and dozens of staff work so tirelessly to put out each week. Nancy, Amy, Dana, Allison, Nikki, AJ, Karen, Allison T., Lauren, Jenn, Dawson, Margarita and of course Wista, receive little or no thanks at all and are usually subject only to criticism when a something isn’t absolutely perfect. This is, after all, a student newspaper.
But even with all those times when some errors slipped through, the paper still came out pretty good. This past year, under the leadership of one James N. DeLoma, The Chronicle has really come into its own – something that has been expressed by many who read it. I, for one, attribute the development of this little circus into a real student newspaper over the course of eight months almost entirely to his goals, dedication and hard work. He rebuilt this newspaper from the ground up last fall, from buying all new equipment to redesigning the entire format to revolutionizing our Web site.
Some of us may have a slightly over-inflated opinion of ourselves, but it is hard to deny that more people than ever before read and listen to what is printed each week. I applaud those of you who have taken the time to write in and voice your thoughts on stories and editorials, or even just talked about them in passing. We still have a long way to go, but we’ve got to admit it’s getting better.
On that topic, though, I do not applaud the few of you who suddenly become experts on journalism every time something you don’t like appears in print. The cry of bias, which by the way does not apply to editorials, since they are opinions, is a favorite but pointless accusation. A news story that you do not like is not the same thing as a biased or unethical one, which some of you do not seem to quite understand. A newspaper has a responsibility to print legitimate news, no matter how pleasing or upsetting it might be to the audience. If it makes us enemies, so be it. Believe it or not, we actually do think about things like that. Based on the praise of faculty members who are far more experienced than ourselves, I would say we are doing OK.
Next year, you will have the privilege of reading editions of The Chronicle assembled by one of the most capable staffs in recent memory. The new editorial board brings a great base of knowledge to the table, and I look forward to watching this paper continue to develop under Jamie’s capable leadership. I will miss you all immensely. Good luck.
One love…I’m out.
