Editorial Staff
The following editorial was the very first article published in Spring 2014 (published on January 13) and reflects the goals and desires of The Echo editorial staff. Some updates have been made.
“Cha cha cha changes!”* All around, this was the tune being sung. New Years Resolutions were being made (and quickly broken), goals were being set, bars were being raised, and so on and so forth. Everyone was trying to better themselves and grow as a person. The world was cleaning up, people!
And so did The Echo. This semester we are publishing our layout version on Wednesday afternoons, instead of Friday mornings. You, our readers, talked. We listened. You said that more students would read The Echo if it was published earlier in the week, instead of right before the weekend. So. We’re changing too.
We also began posting online more frequently. We want you to have new and interesting things to read every day. Of course we can’t please everyone, but keeping our audience (you) happy and reading is a top priority. This is your student newspaper. We are your voice.
At least . . . we want to be. But, we can’t do that without your help. Share, read and write. Tell us what is happening on campus, what you are interested in, what you want to read about, and we will do our best.
At this point, you may be thinking that you didn’t ask for these improvements. Perhaps you have even more or different suggestions. Please let us know. We want to dialogue with you about how to make The Echo the best yet. We’re passionate about creating something worthwhile for the student body.
However, dialogue is simply not enough. Many times, not just in regard to a student newspaper, we find that people are willing to give suggestions for changes they want to see made but not a plan for how to implement those changes. It’s easy to point out flaws or make demands when you aren’t the one who has to implement the changes. Our staff works hard with the resources we have to produce the absolute best of our capabilities. We are only as good as our writers, our story ideas, our editorial staff and so on.
By all means, do not hesitate to tell us when something isn’t working. We want to know. Nevertheless, constructive feedback is the best feedback. As our editor-in-chief is teaching her students this semester, that means providing positive suggestions or guidance on how to go about fixing the problem, not just pointing it out.
One of our editor’s personal resolutions was to be more honest about who she is and act in ways that remain true to her nature–how God made her. The Echo can be a great avenue for sharing thoughts and experiences with the world. Well, probably just the SNU campus will read it, but that is a great place to begin. It’s important to start resolutions with small achievable goals so that you can stay on track.
If you see something that you want changed, if you know that students are interested in other topics or would like to see something else, then do something about it. Go beyond talk and into action. Take initiative. Submit that cool comic or edgy opinions piece you talk about wishing to see in The Echo. Comment on the articles you like and tell us that you liked them. Comment on the articles you disagree with and start a discussion. If there is something you want to see, write it. Or find someone who can. Be brave and do something.
Contact Editor-in-Chief, Ronna Fisher, with ideas, articles, feedback, etc. at rfisher@mail.snu.edu.
*If you don’t understand this 70s pop song reference, enjoy: )