Q&A with the EICs
Suzanne Merkelson and Chelsea Eakin
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Opinions
Edginess. That's what we wanted this fall, coming in as editors in chief. We wanted exciting news stories and in-depth investigative pieces.
Little did we know what we were in for.
Collectively, Colby students have had a tumultuous year. From the election to the sit-in to the economic crisis and major endowment losses to the April 12 incident, it's been a confusing, hard and enlightening year for all of us. As students, we felt all the same things you probably have. As editors, we sometimes had to push those feelings aside.
Objectivity might be the greatest of journalistic myths, but it's something we try to remain committed to. How do you stay objective, though, when nearly the entire student body wears red to a rally protesting the actions of Security officers, yet you have to interview those same officers on the same day? How do you promise to be fair to the students involved in the event AND the chief of police? How-as a small-scale weekly publication-do you compete with dailies, with TV stations, with blogs, with Facebook even?
Well, we try. And while we're grateful for the experience we've had as editors, as student journalists, as aspiring writers, sometimes being objective sucks. Like when we want to respond to especially infuriating Digest posts. Or when our friends want us to cover events or clubs they're really passionate about. Or when we want to participate in the sit-in, or the rally, but know that if we do, we can't be part of the Echo team that covers it.
It's 3:30 on a Wednesday morning and we're sending the paper to print. The sun is just starting to rise outside, but we're oblivious. The Echo production office is completely windowless. In fact, it's kind of like a dungeon. We'll go to bed soon, waking up a few hours later around lunchtime, eagerly awaiting the 4 p.m.
delivery of this week's paper. Looking at the finished product, the one that's currently resting in your hands or folded under your plate, it's easy for us to forget the hours (and hours and hours) that go into a single issue of The Colby Echo.
Little did we know what we were in for.
Collectively, Colby students have had a tumultuous year. From the election to the sit-in to the economic crisis and major endowment losses to the April 12 incident, it's been a confusing, hard and enlightening year for all of us. As students, we felt all the same things you probably have. As editors, we sometimes had to push those feelings aside.
Objectivity might be the greatest of journalistic myths, but it's something we try to remain committed to. How do you stay objective, though, when nearly the entire student body wears red to a rally protesting the actions of Security officers, yet you have to interview those same officers on the same day? How do you promise to be fair to the students involved in the event AND the chief of police? How-as a small-scale weekly publication-do you compete with dailies, with TV stations, with blogs, with Facebook even?
Well, we try. And while we're grateful for the experience we've had as editors, as student journalists, as aspiring writers, sometimes being objective sucks. Like when we want to respond to especially infuriating Digest posts. Or when our friends want us to cover events or clubs they're really passionate about. Or when we want to participate in the sit-in, or the rally, but know that if we do, we can't be part of the Echo team that covers it.
It's 3:30 on a Wednesday morning and we're sending the paper to print. The sun is just starting to rise outside, but we're oblivious. The Echo production office is completely windowless. In fact, it's kind of like a dungeon. We'll go to bed soon, waking up a few hours later around lunchtime, eagerly awaiting the 4 p.m.
delivery of this week's paper. Looking at the finished product, the one that's currently resting in your hands or folded under your plate, it's easy for us to forget the hours (and hours and hours) that go into a single issue of The Colby Echo.
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