2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Readers
Brandon Williams
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Opinion
It has come to our attention that there have been misunderstandings and misconceptions about what has been written on the opinion page over the course of the semester. As a result, we have chosen to write a letter to you, our readers, in place of our usual staff editorial in order to clear up these issues.
The first and most important issue that needs to be addressed is simply the word "opinion." This word has been commonly misunderstood. For those who have not read our policy, highlighted to the right of this letter, we want to clarify that the word "opinion" has a different connotation in regard to our newspaper.
From letters we have received, calls we have answered and comments we have overheard, it seems that people are misinterpreting what that big, bold word means at the top of this page. It does not mean that somebody can just rant and rave about his or her opinion on a matter. Every article that is printed on this page has factual basis and accompanying research. Whether it is actual fact-finding or personally experiencing what we write about, absolutely nothing goes on this page without support behind it.
The First Amendment is a privilege for all citizens in the United States and the Communiqué recognizes this. We encourage those who disagree with anything written in the opinion section to either write a Letter to the Editor or attend a staff meeting (every Tuesday at 11 a.m. in 113 F Linn Hall) to get their opinion heard and published in the paper.
We understand that our readers may not be familiar with newspaper terms; thus, the word 'editorial' may be unfamiliar to some. The official definition of editorial, found on Dictionary.com, is as follows:
ed·i·to·ri·al [ed-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] noun
1. an article in a newspaper or other periodical presenting the opinion of the publisher, editor or editors.
The purpose of our editorials is to stimulate discussion between students, faculty and staff on a variety of topics. They are never intended to degrade or insult. We give our honest opinions according to the personal experiences and facts we gather.
The first and most important issue that needs to be addressed is simply the word "opinion." This word has been commonly misunderstood. For those who have not read our policy, highlighted to the right of this letter, we want to clarify that the word "opinion" has a different connotation in regard to our newspaper.
From letters we have received, calls we have answered and comments we have overheard, it seems that people are misinterpreting what that big, bold word means at the top of this page. It does not mean that somebody can just rant and rave about his or her opinion on a matter. Every article that is printed on this page has factual basis and accompanying research. Whether it is actual fact-finding or personally experiencing what we write about, absolutely nothing goes on this page without support behind it.
The First Amendment is a privilege for all citizens in the United States and the Communiqué recognizes this. We encourage those who disagree with anything written in the opinion section to either write a Letter to the Editor or attend a staff meeting (every Tuesday at 11 a.m. in 113 F Linn Hall) to get their opinion heard and published in the paper.
We understand that our readers may not be familiar with newspaper terms; thus, the word 'editorial' may be unfamiliar to some. The official definition of editorial, found on Dictionary.com, is as follows:
ed·i·to·ri·al [ed-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] noun
1. an article in a newspaper or other periodical presenting the opinion of the publisher, editor or editors.
The purpose of our editorials is to stimulate discussion between students, faculty and staff on a variety of topics. They are never intended to degrade or insult. We give our honest opinions according to the personal experiences and facts we gather.
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