Journalism at UMD

Having been away from campus last semester, I enjoyed the opportunity to once again pick up a copy of The Statesman and dive in. I was reminded why I used to read the paper regularly.

As a preliminary note, kudos to the staff for the attractive front page. The photograph definitely drew me in, and the overall layout was impressive.

Lifestyle coverage
This week’s issue of the paper, as have others, did a nice job covering many of the cultural events and outdoor opportunities available to the UMD community. I appreciated the pieces on the RSOP offerings, for instance. Ice climbing is definitely one of the more unusual activities available to UMD students (at least from the perspective of this Californian), and the article about it enticed me. Similarly, while I am not generally a fan of yoga, the piece on the RSOP couples session this week actually tempted me. Not that I really intend to go, but I did at least consider it, which is saying a lot.

I also was delighted to see the articles on the Northland Muslim community and Black History Month. These are topics that most UMD students probably know very little about, so The Statesman is to be congratulated for bringing them to our attention. I was, however, curious about the location of the mosque – presumably the heart of the community – which was never disclosed.

News choices
While the lifestyle coverage is extensive, there were areas that I think should have received greater attention. As I flipped through the pages of the paper, I wondered when I would reach the article (or articles) dealing with the economic crisis and its implications for students at UMD. By the time I reached the back page, I was, I must confess, disappointed. The University of Minnesota will likely be facing enormous budget cuts with implications for undergraduate and graduate education, including large tuition increases, potentially fewer course offerings, larger class sizes, and reduced services. The debate over the federal stimulus package in recent days is serious and consequential. This is a major story, in other words, and it merits coverage.

I also was a bit perplexed by the editorial. Was Michael Phelps’s drug use – and the media’s reaction to it – really the most pressing issue of the week? Moreover, for an editorial that complained about an alleged media overreaction, I was hoping for at least one or two examples of such irresponsibility. I am not a viewer of television news, which is perhaps what the author had in mind, but I would not characterize the newspapers I read as having overreacted. In fact, their coverage has struck me as quite subdued.

Mistaeks
The last thing that jumped out at me when going through the paper was the copyediting errors. Professor Paula Pedersen is a woman. Local television stations are preparing for the digital switchover (not switch over). And what’s a track “innovational?� Admittedly, I did get a chuckle out of that last one.

Bottom line
Overall, I greatly enjoyed reacquainting myself with The Statesman. The staff is to be commended for the fine paper it produces. Thank you for letting me evaluate it.

-Scott Laderman