In an era where national polarization is at an all time high, it is important for us to all look at the roles we play in that division. This applies to journalists at the highest level, and is something I often reflect on.
The CWU community is currently facing the results of lower funding, political pressure, staffing attrition and more. At the same time, CWU students, and the broader town, are engaging in meaningful work and projects, creating and supporting flourishing communities and continuing a legacy of work that far predates most of our time at the university.
Both of these realities exist simultaneously at our university, and as Editor-In-Chief, one of the values I try to encourage is that our coverage should reflect them. Every week we report on a variety of stories at CWU, ranging from ongoing coverage, like that of the continuing process of dealing with the results of the vote of no confidence, to pieces highlighting student success, (see our stories this week on FASA and MEChA.)
Something I also prioritize in our coverage is non-polarizing reporting. What this means to me is coverage that accurately reports on events in the best way we can. It means reaching out to sources from every angle of the story, and including as much of those perspectives as we can. This is not only what we aim to do, but what we are taught to do at a foundational level as aspiring collegiate journalists.
A great example of this is how we have approached our coverage following the vote of no confidence. Every story that we did following the vote, that wasn’t just simply event coverage, we always made sure to reach out to every “side” or angle of the story.
This meant reaching out to President Wohlpart, the Board of Trustees and CWU Strategic Communications at every step in our coverage, never publishing stories without giving everyone involved a chance to respond. Whenever people choose to respond to requests for comment, we have always made sure to include their responses and to follow up on any questions they’ve posed about our coverage while giving those different perspectives equal footing or space where appropriate. This best practice is the approach we take to every story.
Our paper at its core has one main goal: to reflect, uplift and showcase the student voice. These values are what we base our coverage on and will always take priority in determining what gets covered in our student paper. After all, our motto is “by the students, for the students.”
What this really means at the end of the day is that whatever the students are talking about or saying they want to read more on, that’s what we cover. When we think about what stories to pitch, we look at what students would be most interested in reading, and what would have the most direct impact on their day-to-day lives. This has always been our approach to coverage, and will be as we continue to look at what stories we are spotlighting.
Every week, we publish a variety of stories to showcase the breadth of experience here at CWU. This week, we have continued coverage of the Board of Trustees, Q&A’s with ASCWU’s Presidential Candidates, Turning Point USA’s presence on campus, student dance with Orchesis, theatre with Urinetown, cultural events from FASA and MEChA and more that spotlight a variety of the slices of life at this university.
We try our hardest to have our coverage best reflect the student experience at this university, and we are always open to tips, ideas, comments or letters to the editor from anyone who reads this product. You can always reach us at [email protected].
