Some of you may have noticed some changes on the opinion page. Some of you have voiced your concerns. Some of you more civilly than others.
There is method to the madness, people. I wasn't put in this position to piss you off; I leave that to my writers. I'm here to entertain and inform you — and to bring you back to the page time and time again.
Believe me when I say that more people are reading the opinion page than any other time in recent history. I'm proud of the page, and proud of my writers that made the page what it is.
But change does not happen overnight.
Does the page need more serious columns — more "hard-hitting" opinions? Yes, of course it does. I agree with those that say we need more serious topics on the page. It will happen. Three days an entire semester does not make. Relax with the red-alert "this is the worst opinion page in the history of the free world" attitude.
All I care about is making my readers happy. You are my readers. This page does not exist without your support, and the opinion page has got more readership now than I can remember it ever having. For that, I thank you guys.
However, I get a lot of e-mails asking for us to form opinions on stuff that the students "really care about." We've solicited you guys for ideas on what to cover before. Remember when we asked to send in the five most important things that bother/concern you at Texas A&M? We would have loved to turn that into a full-blown, week-long storyline.
Problem is, only four people responded. Don't tell us to run stuff you want to hear if you're not gonna tell us what that is. If this new style really offends you, then pick up last year's Battalion. That's not how we're going to do things here from now on. Ask yourself this — do you really want to hear about the Iraq war or latest in healthcare legislation every single day? If you do, pick up a Washington Times. We're a little more creative here. This is a college paper, and is thus open for experimentation. I know many people fear change, but change happens.
I've got two paid spots open for opinion writers. If you hate the opinion page, come change it.
13 comments:
Kevin,
Thanks for taking the time to address this concern. I'm a former Batt Opinion writer and I wish that while I was there the editors would have allowed more liberties in our writing. So in that vein, I am appreciative of the creativity you have allowed the writers to employ.
However, I agree with those critics who say the page could use a balance of some "serious" columns. Granted, The Batt is not supposed to be the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal but gaining a perspective on current events from the point of view of students is a valuable thing. (Especially now that we have a former president who is the current Secretary of Defense).
Good job with this blog, I hope you fill your remaining positions and continue to produce a strong Opinion section.
Collins
Class of '03
it seems like you are trying to defend your suck-job by blaming your readers. Also, talking down to people (with the blame and all) a strong opinion editor does not make.
Day 4 of crap on the opinion page appeared today. But a reply of "4 days a semester does not make" is surely on its way.
And to add insult to injury, the page didn't even look good. The picture was too big, and the text probably should have been justified on both sides so that it can be read more easily. Anyone who has ever taken a tech writing course knows how to make a document look pleasing to the eye. Surely as opinion editor, you'd know that. The rest of the paper seemed to get it right.
The students at Texas A&M deserve better than the current situation of a piss poor opinion editor and staff.
Additionally, the blogger noted that I should pick up the Washington Times for true opinions...I think its the Washington Post, but of course any respected journalist would know that.
If you're not in the business of opinions, then just change the name of the page to "Waste of Space" or "Of No Use to You" or better yet "I have no opinion on anything."
Also, don't blame the readers of The Battalion for you sucking.
To the Battalion Staff,
How can you let idiots send in opinions?
The Battalion Staff has sunk to a new low by exploiting students who want to show their lack of knowledge or lack of intelligence. Case in point, Andy Farmer, a senior BIOLOGY major, discussing topics of construction sequencing, project scheduling, and Texas Avenue facts in an opinion written February 8, 2007.
Mr. Farmer could have been discussing that we have the means and ability to travel faster than the speed of light, but the government is waiting for aliens to provide us with that technology. I'll bet he has information he can retract from the dark cavity in his backside to support this claim.
This guy is a loon! He definitely had diarrhea of the mouth when coming up with his opinion regarding Texas Avenue.
Stick to your Biology, Mr. Farmer...I hope you'll succeed in that field of study.
If this is what the Battalion Staff had in mind to have an interesting opinion page, then please don't exploit the students this way.
Blevins, you apparently are not part of that elite class of journalists, either, because there is a Washington Times.
While the Post is definitley more respected, a simple Google search would have revealed your hypocrisy.
Here's the deal: I don't claim to be a respected journalist.
I'm just a devoted reader who expects excellence.
I agree...
Don't blame your readers for poor content and poor execution.
You're supposed to come up with the ideas, not your readers. You don't get paid to let readers send in ideas.
When you put together an interesting opinion page with engaging topics in a straightforward way, people will read (and respond) to it.
I didn't blame the readers for anything other than not responding to us when we ask what you want to hear. I get that particular complaint often. Please, send me in what you want to hear.
It's called the student voice of Texas A&M for a reason.
Other than that, I take full responsibility for everything that appears on the page. I'm thick-skinned. I can handle personal attacks and people talking out of their ass. I'm proud of some aspects of the page, and not so proud of others. It's been one month. I'm ahead of schedule.
Opinion writers are not shaped overnight. We're getting them there.
At least I found something that'll bring people to the blog.
Okay guys, here's how it works--
Opinion writers are more than willing to come up with great, serious ideas to write about; however, our editors are convinced that you do not want to read about things like politics or social issues. (I was told earlier this semester that college students don't care much about racial issues for God's sake!) When we pitch ideas with serious themes, if the editors don't think the readers are interested, we are shot down. So for the love of God, if you want to hear about politics, race, sex, and other fun things that will foster strong feelings and make that time between classes a bit more fun, please tell the editors so they'll approve those kinds of ideas.
Thanks and gig'em,
Amanda Kiser
class of 2008
"It's called the student voice of Texas A&M for a reason."
And if I recall, the Battalion staff is made up of students.
There you go blaming your readers again. No, Kevin, No! Don't take some of the blame, take all of it. It is never your readers' responsibility to provide content or ideas for content.
Keep insulting your readers and you won't have any left to insult.
Read my previous comment about talking out of your ass. It applies to your post.
I would just like to point out the countless grammar, spelling, and graphic errors that have plagued the drab and shallow content of the Battalion ever since you became the editor.
Perhaps when you said you had a thick skin you meant you are oblivious to the fact that you have created an opinion page about nothing that looks and reads like some 8th grader's live journal and is an the largest embarrassment to the Battalion in the history of A&M.
Instead of creating a blog to be used as an avenue for excusing such sub-par journalism, perhaps you could focus your energy on coppying and pasting columns into Microsoft Word, as most of the grammar and spelling errors are obvious enough to be caught by a third-grader, let alone spell-check.
Alright, this discussion is over.
Complaining about spelling and punctuation is bush league. You're just looking for stuff to vent about now. By the way, you spelled copying "coppying," but like I said, that's bush league.
Also, if you're going to point errors out, actually point them out — don't just say you are and then launch into a pointless tirade.
If you're this hung up over a few opinion columns then you need to get your priorities straight.
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