Hey guys. My name is Emma Roller and I'll be taking over as editor in chief of The Daily Cardinal next semester. I have five main goals for improving the Cardinal in the upcoming school year.
1. Relevance. Aside from the educational value for the staff, there would be little reason to produce a student newspaper if it did not relate to student interests. One fatal flaw we often make is forgetting that not all students pore over local news every day. Issues like the Central Library renovations and ASM elections need explanation as well as contextualization. Rather than simply reporting ""this meeting occurred,"" it is crucial to explain what actually happened there, what was decided and what the significance of that decision is for students. News does not consist of isolated, sporadically important issues, but of ever-developing stories outside of meetings and press releases. More explanatory news content will cultivate interest in student body about politics on campus, in the city and throughout the state.
2. Advocacy. As journalists we try to approach issues as objectively as possible, but we cannot reject the inherent solidarity we have with the student body. To promote this, I hope to continue our investigative role on campus. By informing students on deeper issues, from corrupt landlord practices to irresponsible spending of segregated fees, we can advocate for the well being of the students we represent.
3. Accountability. Apart from holding politicians, professors and other local officials accountable, journalists must also hold themselves accountable. To accomplish this, I hope to implement management and ombudsman columns. Incoming managing editor Todd Stevens and I are currently recruiting a Cardinal alum to be our ombudsman, a third party who can more objectively and critically point out flaws in our coverage. Unfortunately, these types of columns can quickly devolve into masturbatory ruminations on topics that only interest the staffs of the two student newspapers. However, when done right they can add a layer of accountability to the student press and suggest ways we can improve our content.
4. Entertainment. Despite how professional we try to be in our practices, we cannot deny our status as a college newspaper. Students usually pick up the papers and visit our websites to seek out some respite from the monotony of school, and for this reason I hope to bring more lighthearted content into the paper. Some ways to achieve this is to add more innovative Page 2 content, create more fun, quippy videos, and run more student personal interest stories. This is where you come in. Let us know if one of your friends is writing an erotic novel, starting a UW record label, organizing a charity for baby narwhals or founding an amateur Bocce ball league. Which leads me to my final goal...
5. Balls. Most importantly, I want to return something to the Cardinal it's sorely lacked for awhile. Something that can easily be overused but, when used responsibly, can galvanize the intellect, activism, debate, humor and overall investment of UW students in their campus community. What I'm talking about, of course, is a healthy pair of cojones. Without the necessary moxie to ask tough questions to people twice our age, run confrontational columns and raunchy photos, we cannot feel out the proper boundaries for our coverage. Without balls, we cannot survive as a legitimate publication. So look for that big, warm package hitting the racks come August—I look forward to seeing you then.
Emma Roller is a junior majoring in journalism and political science. Please send all feedback and advice for the incoming EIC to editor@dailycardinal.com.
