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EDITORIAL: Broken promise shatters trust
Editorial | 9/18/07
Posted online at 2:53 AM EST on 9/18/07
As last year's Gravity controversy drew to a close, students left campus for the summer with the understanding that the magazine wouldn't be publishing for a semester in order to "reevaluate its editorial proceedings." We were disappointed to hear that Gravity will not actually be taking a hiatus, but instead will publish content online.
Gravity needs to regain the trust of our campus community after publishing the racially charged BlackJerry mock advertisement last semester. We took Gravity's promise of delaying publication this semester seriously, and by failing to adhere to its self-imposed penalty, the magazine lost even more credibility in our eyes.
Everyone makes mistakes, and some degree of human error is inevitable in journalism, but simply apologizing for something that slipped through the cracks isn't enough.
To gain back our trust, Gravity needs to monitor its content more vigilantly when it publishes online. Following the publication of a racial slur in a Justice sports column in 2003, this paper revamped its copy editing process; articles since then are read a minimum of five times before being released for publication. With a publication that comes out once a semester, improvements to the editorial process should be the norm.
Policy change can't occur over-night, but the magazine must be more transparent in its operations and let us know what steps it is taking to ensure that its new online version won't repeat the past transgressions of its print edition.
Gravity should also continue to be an active participant in the Brandeis Media Coalition, which convenes for its first board meeting Wednesday. The coalition is considering implementing diversity training sessions for campus publications, something from which Gravity staff writers and editors would benefit greatly.
We hope, for the sake of Gravity and our campus, that an incident such as last semester's won't be repeated. As a chartered club, any material that Gravity publishes online will still represent the University in some way, even if they recieve no funding. We hope that the online format will allow articles to receive more feedback and allow a more diverse segment of the campus to participate. But for the online publication to realize its full potential, Gravity must first make the necessary editorial tweaks to regain our trust.
Gravity needs to regain the trust of our campus community after publishing the racially charged BlackJerry mock advertisement last semester. We took Gravity's promise of delaying publication this semester seriously, and by failing to adhere to its self-imposed penalty, the magazine lost even more credibility in our eyes.
Everyone makes mistakes, and some degree of human error is inevitable in journalism, but simply apologizing for something that slipped through the cracks isn't enough.
To gain back our trust, Gravity needs to monitor its content more vigilantly when it publishes online. Following the publication of a racial slur in a Justice sports column in 2003, this paper revamped its copy editing process; articles since then are read a minimum of five times before being released for publication. With a publication that comes out once a semester, improvements to the editorial process should be the norm.
Policy change can't occur over-night, but the magazine must be more transparent in its operations and let us know what steps it is taking to ensure that its new online version won't repeat the past transgressions of its print edition.
Gravity should also continue to be an active participant in the Brandeis Media Coalition, which convenes for its first board meeting Wednesday. The coalition is considering implementing diversity training sessions for campus publications, something from which Gravity staff writers and editors would benefit greatly.
We hope, for the sake of Gravity and our campus, that an incident such as last semester's won't be repeated. As a chartered club, any material that Gravity publishes online will still represent the University in some way, even if they recieve no funding. We hope that the online format will allow articles to receive more feedback and allow a more diverse segment of the campus to participate. But for the online publication to realize its full potential, Gravity must first make the necessary editorial tweaks to regain our trust.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Outraged Student
posted 9/18/07 @ 10:34 PM EST
Little known fact: Gravity was the club that started the Brandeis Media Coalition. Do some fact checking.
I am very, very offended by the utter ignorance of this editorial. (Continued…)
Disappointed
posted 9/18/07 @ 11:53 PM EST
I'm disappointed THE JUSTICE did not take a hiatus.
Wait, clubs can progress while publishing? Go figure... Stop patting yourself on the back all the time. (Continued…)
The campus's trust wasn't there to shatter.
posted 9/19/07 @ 1:04 AM EST
http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/8055.html?PHPSESSID=.
I am continually astounded by this campus's inability to comprehend satire.
The parallels that the 'BlackJerry' ad drew between modern corporate moguls and Constitution-era slaveowners should have been obvious to a student body composed of semi-educated young adults. (Continued…)
Not terribly surprised.
posted 9/22/07 @ 11:42 PM EST
Wow. This doesn't seem terribly unlike Jon Stewart's fateful interview on Crossfire. You know, the one where Tucker Carlson asked him "why aren't you asking John Kerry the tough questions?" And do you remember what Jon said? "You're on CNN. (Continued…)
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