I am the editor of the Opinions page of my high school newspaper. One of my staffwriters write a great article about why she doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance (mainly because she isn't a US citizen and she doesn't feel she owes allegiance to the country yet, etc). I had my own article written, and everything was fine. However, at the last minute my adviser told me that she needed an article representing the opposing point of view, and told me to write an article about why everyone should say the pledge, that she was being a traitor, etc. This couldn't be farther from what I believe! I want to become a writer and I take what I publish seriously, and I don't know what to do. First of all, I think her article is about her personal emotions about a topic, not a "change this policy" article, so I don't feel it needs an opposing pov at all. Help! This is due tomorrow.
Responses
sp, 10/4/2005, 11:46:14 PM
I'm also editor of my paper's Op/Ed section. I think what this comes down to is how much decision making on your paper is made by student editors and how much is made by your advisor. Which one of you has the final say if there is a disagreement? My paper's advisor would let the editors decide, but it depends on how much control your advisor usually has at your school. We have in our mission statement "All content decisions are made by student editors." But again, your paper might not be as self-directed.
Mitch Ziegler, 10/10/2005, 2:37:01 PM
As an newspaper adviser, I would never ask a writer to write an opinion with which he/she does not agree. There are ethical issues with this practice, and we have had this come back to hurt one of our students. Besides, do you really feel comfortable saying, after someone has criticized your story, "I don't really agree with what I wrote?"
Adam Richlin, 10/12/2005, 12:40:27 AM
Think about what the term means... Advisor. Take her advice, thank her for it, and then make your own decision.
You cant outright say "You arent my boss, you are my advisor!", but you can remind her that you were given the job as editor because she must have trusted your abilities... so give you a chance to be responsible and make your own choices. It wont hurt anyone if you counterpoint the article or not, so why make such a fuss over it?
Also, as editor, you are in a position to poll your writers for someone that believes in the counter-point and asking them to write the article.
You always have the right to say to your advisor "I will not publish that which I do not believe. That would be unprofessional." and leave it at that.
__________________________
Adam Richlin,
Editor In Chief (Emeritus) of the Thunderbird Newspaper
Dix Hills, New York
Quietlight at gmail.com
Mike Spewak, 10/13/2005, 12:09:53 PM
Even though it could be misconstrued as unprofessional, sometimes, as an editor, you must be willing to write or endorse something in which you do not believe, in order to help balance or improve your paper as a whole.
Last year, I was the opinions editor of my school's paper, and although there weren't many, I did write several articles for the sake of editorial balance. To me at least, it seems that to be a successful opinions writer/editor, you must have the ability to defend almost any ideological position strongly and tastefully.
The best papers convey a wide variety of viewpoints, and while it is acceptable for any publication to display a bias, the most effective newspapers work to make sure that readers are given perspectives from all sides of an issue.
For a topic as divisive as the use of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, it is only fair that your paper would present logical arguments from both sides. The job of newspapers is not to instruct; rather, the job of newspaper is to inform, giving readers the opportunity to weigh every argument and come to their own conclusions.
Mike Spewak
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Ladue High School Panorama
St. Louis, MO
