Daily Campus

[MrMustang1965]

If you're attending a Babs concert, you should realize what you're stepping into.

[aus10fromhous10]

I am sure that their next column will probably have an article about Babs concert in New York yesterday and how wonderful the Bush impersonator was.

As the editor in chief of The Daily Campus, I offer my personal guarantee that the Editorial Board will not write an editorial about the Barbara Streisand concert in New York.

There, ya happy?

[SMU Football Blog]

What is up with the DC website today?

[Peruna2001]

do you ever stop to think that these kids also have classes to attend and homework to do.

while im sure that many of them would love to sit down and have a half hour chat with "steve-o" that calculus class might get in the way, or the 4-6 page paper they have due on friday.

these are kids whose main goal is to get a degree, and while they are there they are going to inform other students about the things they can.

plus a wire story isnt always a bad thing. the one they ran on the rice player dying and the one on buck getting fired were good.

some of these kids dont get cable or any other news otlet and they need to know that there are things going on in this world outside of SMU

In fact, yes I did think of that. I also think it is like any other extracurricular (sp?) activity at SMU. You have to commit some extra time to it. If you can't commit the extra time, don't do it. The kids in band have three practices per week plus performances other than football games. The cheerleaders and dance team have workout schedules and practices.

If wire stories are needed to fill space, that's fine. Buck getting fired and the Rice player's death were stories related to SMU by some connection. Buck's firing was a piece of Metroplex news and I would admit that is acceptable. Rice is a conference rival and the death can relate to people at SMU who have friends at Rice or are interested in news around our conference. I'm not quite sure how NASCAR relates to SMU. Was the report about a driver from the Dallas area or who went to SMU? Was it about a race happening at TMS? What's the relation to SMU other than there may be fans of NASCAR at SMU? If that's the case, I doubt those people are running to pick up their copy of the Daily Campus to find out the results of this weekend's race.

When I was in school, the DC only printed 4 days per week. That leaves plenty of time to be studying, going to classes, AND filling the paper with relevant stories to the SMU community.

[MrMustang1965]

I am sure that their next column will probably have an article about Babs concert in New York yesterday and how wonderful the Bush impersonator was.

As the editor in chief of The Daily Campus, I offer my personal guarantee that the Editorial Board will not write an editorial about the Barbara Streisand concert in New York.

There, ya happy?

Can you explain the NASCAR story's placement in the DC?

[PonyPride]

do you ever stop to think that these kids also have classes to attend and homework to do.

while im sure that many of them would love to sit down and have a half hour chat with "steve-o" that calculus class might get in the way, or the 4-6 page paper they have due on friday.

these are kids whose main goal is to get a degree, and while they are there they are going to inform other students about the things they can.

plus a wire story isnt always a bad thing. the one they ran on the rice player dying and the one on buck getting fired were good.

some of these kids dont get cable or any other news otlet and they need to know that there are things going on in this world outside of SMU

Most of this, I agree with. When I was at the DC (seems so long ago!), we basically lived up there. For the students who run that paper, it's like a full-time job, in addition to going to class, and as important as it is to cover Event A, B or C, that shouldn't get in the way of the aforementioned calculus class or paper. Getting your grades comes first. With that said, however, I almost always see the DC well represented at events: the sports editor is all over the place, as is the editor-in-chief. There are at least two photographers that I see with regularity at events. They generally do a very good job with what they have access to. Why journalism majors aren't required to write for the DC (I was) is beyond me.

No, the DC is not ultra-liberal. That's just my opinion, I realize, and I'm not going to get into that, or I'll have to delete my own post. (?) The important thing about which we all can agree is that the editor-in-chief has guaranteed that the DC will offer no commentary on the Babs concert, and for that, I'm sure we all are thankful. I know I am.

[ponyup10]

the DC is an independent paper, they dont get funds or forced labor from SMU

[ponyup10]

do you ever stop to think that these kids also have classes to attend and homework to do.

while im sure that many of them would love to sit down and have a half hour chat with "steve-o" that calculus class might get in the way, or the 4-6 page paper they have due on friday.

Yeah right, most people writing for the paper are liberal arts majors - not people with real classes.

But i would be wiling to bet that most of those kids are majoring in journalism and something else...maybe a foreign language, political science, or maybe even business

these are kids whose main goal is to get a degree, and while they are there they are going to inform other students about the things they can.

plus a wire story isnt always a bad thing. the one they ran on the rice player dying and the one on buck getting fired were good.


Why is it that journalism majors aren't required to submit articles to the paper? I'm sure they write them for class, just send them over to the DC.

Because the DC is an independent news outlet—no funding or forced labor from SMU

some of these kids dont get cable or any other news otlet and they need to know that there are things going on in this world outside of SMU

You're right! Too bad the broadband internet connection in every dorm room for every student, and in countless computer labs across campus including wireless, does not provide an unlimited source of local, national, and world news. If they only had a cnn.com.

Well i would assume that the average college student gets on their computer in the morning to check facebook rather than CNN, but they will probably pick up a paper and flip through it if they are a little early to class

[aus10fromhous10]

Can you explain the NASCAR story's placement in the DC?

If I must...

Yes, I write the NASCAR column.
No, it's not SMU related all the time.
Is it sometimes? yes.
HERE
AND HERE

Am I a NASCAR fan? Yes.

Why is the column in the paper?
Sure, the DC sports section should primarily cover SMU athletics. I think we do a pretty good job all things considered.

Every issue before football games, we dedicate an entire page, without any advertising, previewing the upcoming game. After the game, usually on Tuesdays, we dedicate another full page, without advertising, to cover everything that happened over the weekend in all the sports. These pages are always in full color and are fairly comprehensive.

Many of the story ideas posters on this forum have suggested have been done. Feel free to search the DC archives if there's a story you want to read about or email me if you've got a great story idea that we should cover.

But back to the point. The NASCAR column is for fun. They're easy to do because NASCAR is one of the most easily accessible sports to cover. I can go online and get whatever notes, quotes, etc. from NASCAR's media only Web site.

SMU athletes play many of the sports readers enjoy, but they don't participate in motorsports. Many, obviously not all, but again many readers enjoy NASCAR. Its the second most watched spectactor sport in America, it's logical to think somebody on campus has got to be watching it.

The column puts something out there for those readers.

For many students, the DC is the only paper they read. While that's unfortunate, its the reality. We have to do more than just cover SMU for those readers.

The DC is a hands on lab for myself and my fellow staff members. The column are an exercise in opinion writing for myself and a once a week coverage of a sport that doesn't get any play in the paper normally because SMU doesn't participate in it.

On top of that, it takes some of the pressure off the sports editors who bust their butts covering SMU and making sure they have enough content for their section.

We would always rather have original content in the paper, regardless of if it's coverage of SMU football, NASCAR, or a cricket match in India. Last week, the sports section had exactly one story from the AP wire during the entire week, and it was a story about the Rangers GM getting fired.

Hope that clears things up for everyone...

[blkjack34]

Yeah right, most people writing for the paper are liberal arts majors - not people with real classes.

Have you ever taken a liberal arts class? Do you know how much time goes into them? I am a business major, but also take photography classes and I can tell you that those photography classes take WAY more time than any business class.

[Ponymon]

Yeah right, most people writing for the paper are liberal arts majors - not people with real classes.

Have you ever taken a liberal arts class? Do you know how much time goes into them? I am a business major, but also take photography classes and I can tell you that those photography classes take WAY more time than any business class.

You, OBVIOUSLY, haven't taken cost accounting. Try that class out and tell me what you think!

[jtstang]

I took Survey of Dance.

[SMU Football Blog]

Ooooo...my major is harder than your major!!! I cannot begin to count the number of times I heard that stupid argument.

Oh, and photography classes are a real pain in the @ss.

[ponyup10]

almost always see the DC well represented at events: the sports editor is all over the place, as is the editor-in-chief. There are at least two photographers that I see with regularity at events. They generally do a very good job with what they have access to.

Then if you see the sports editor everywhere what more do you expect?

[PonyPride]

I was supporting you. I know what goes into putting out that paper, and I said you guys do a good job.