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Dear Commuter Staff:

The Commuter

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I’ve been thinking of writing to you all for quite awhile. For one thing, I need to thank Ryan for his kind article about me, a few weeks back. My mother and wife are now fans of your work, to be sure.

But the thing I’ve really been thinking about is how controversial the paper has been this year. You have, editorially, dealt with just about every difficult issue our community and country have faced, and your writing has often been some of the best I’ve read on these difficult topics. My personal favorite was Brandon’s article on Health Care, an issue dear to my heart and so important for our students. But I thank you for all of the writing, it’s been first rate.

You have, at times, been very critical of other student programs on campus, and although that’s nothing new for The Commuter, you have done so with a strength approaching that of a verbal slingshot, and I think the sting received has not always been easy to take; and, to be honest, I’ve sometimes felt sympathy for the folks on the receiving end.

Then there’s the swearing in print. Not unheard of, but it’s been shocking, at times, and I know there have been some folks pretty upset with you for doing it; and, again, to be honest, at first I was one of those folks.

Slowly, however, it began to dawn on me, that those of you heading to careers in journalism face one of the most daunting tasks of any of our graduates. Not only is the job market one of the toughest, but journalism, as a profession has been “dumbed down,” and, as a country, we desperately need it to be saved.

As we have moved from having an “independent press,” to having a press that is almost entirely owned by major corporations, media of all sorts have replaced true investigative reporting, and editorializing, with coverage of safe, secure “non-issues.” For instance, a survey a few years ago found that National News broadcasts by the major networks did far more coverage of Michael Jackson than of poverty and hunger.

So, then it occurs to me, who is going to break through the dense, ever-present pablum that modern journalism has become, and give us real news and investigation again? It’s going to be the ones who write and act with fire in their hearts. The folks prepared to fling sharp stones with their verbal slingshots. And if that’s the life you are preparing for, to be a real journalist despite the professional pressure you are going to receive to go soft on everything, you have to start the fight right now. You need all the practice you can get. And if any of you find a way to break through and bring real writing and reporting back to the media of our country, frankly, it’s worth the sting and shock you’ve given us this year (although, as a career counselor, I still have to advise that, when trying for a job, hold off from the swear words until AFTER you get hired).

So, with appreciation for the good writing, the daring editorials, and yes, some of the stuff that has made me squirm and wince, thanks for what you’ve done with the paper this year. It’s been a thrill ride.

Mark Weiss
Counseling

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