There’s this vivid memory I have from freshman year that always seems to come back and haunt me.
On a sweltering day, I was walking up Morton Hill after a psychology class and heading for The Post newsroom. And as I walked past a group of girls, I heard a snippet of their conversation: “I saw it in The Post,” one of them said, “so it’s probably not true.”
At that point in my college career, I was a freshman reporter, young and a bit naïve. And I was mortified that anybody would ever dare to say anything negative about the publication I called my own.
But three years have passed. Now, I’m not nearly as sensitive to comments like that, mostly because of a realization I had about halfway through my time here: Not everybody is going to like us, and that’s OK.
With a staff that’s mostly composed of white, straight, cisgender students, our perspectives and experiences are undoubtedly going to be limited.
That’s why I cordially invite you to criticize us. Tell us where we messed up. Let us know where and how we can improve.
We know that different readers want to see and read different stories. We’re not going to win traditionalists over with TV reviews or blogs about the 10 drinks you need to try before graduation day. But then again, not everybody wants to come to The Post to read about city council meetings or protests.
We’ve come to understand that it’s impossible to please everyone. No matter how hard we try, we’ll always have our critics. And I think that’s a good thing.
Having thick skin is part of the job. And without criticism, it’s not just the newspaper that suffers — it’s the readers as well.
There are times when our reporters are on tight deadlines and may not put the effort into diverse and thoughtful sourcing. There are parts of town and groups of people that we’ve lost touch with. We may write something you disagree with. And when we do any of those things, you should talk to us about it.
In the old days, if you weren’t happy with something your local newspaper wrote about, you’d pen a letter to the editor, shove it in the mailbox and call it a day.
Now, things are a little different. Social media has made it so that expressing an opinion is as easy as shooting us a 140-character message or an email to editor@thepostathens.com.
I’m not asking you to sling rotten tomatoes at The Post every time we issue a correction. But if you don’t like something, let us know how we can do better next time.
Remember, we’re student journalists for a reason. We’re certainly not The Washington Post, and we’ll readily admit that we have a lot to learn before graduation rolls around. But with your help and constructive criticism, we can make our reporting stronger and more effective for our readers and writers alike.
Lauren Fisher is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Lauren at lf966614@ohio.edu or tweet her @Lauren__Fisher.
