OPINION & EDITORIAL
Incoming editor discusses future of Opinion page
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Also by Andrew Granias:
- Council finally wakes up (September 6, 2007)
- Incoming editor discusses future of Opinion page (May 10, 2007)
- Falk, Cieslewicz should grow up (April 27, 2007)
- Study mislabels students as vain (March 1, 2007)
- State of the Union disappointing, misses point (January 25, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Herald turns page (September 4, 2006)
- Arts editors do fine job (April 20, 2006)
- Welcome to the Herald (August 6, 2007)
- Horowitz speaks; now it's your turn (September 27, 2001)
- From the desk of the editor in chief (September 1, 2005)
by Andrew Granias
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Every morning when you open your trusty Badger Herald, there are a few things you rightfully expect to see: You expect comprehensive news coverage of everything happening in Madison that is pertinent to you, the reader. You expect an arts section that analyzes pop culture and beyond with perception and good taste. You expect a sports section that offers coverage and interpretation of everything prominent in local and national athletics. And finally, you expect an opinion page that has insightful editorial columns that make you think, make you care and hopefully, make you a little uncomfortable about the goings on in the world. Five days a week, the all-student staff burns the midnight oil to give you the things you expect from your paper, and five days a week, we deliver.
Next year, as your editorial page editor, I will step into a larger role in ensuring the continuation of quality and excellence at The Badger Herald, and I want you to know, there are some things you should expect to see on your opinion page.
First and foremost, the opinion page will continue to be yours. It will be a page where you can write a letter to the editor, and if it is relevant, appropriate and fairly well-written, you can expect to see it published. For those of you who are a little shyer and a little snider, you will still be able to write anonymous comments online for every column your heart desires. Every day of the week, this page will be open to you and your opinions, and I sincerely expect you to provide us with them.
But the best way to get your thoughts out to some 20,000 readers is to write for The Badger Herald Opinion page. If you think you have something valuable to contribute — and chances are you do — then I would encourage you to write for this page. You don't have to be a journalism major — I'm not — you don't even have to be a political science major. You just have to have the desire to be heard, and believe me, if you are published, you will certainly be heard.
Don't kid yourself. There are few better places where you could possibly express your viewpoint. Many others and myself would argue that this, the opinion page of the largest independent student-run newspaper in the country, is the most accessible marketplace for ideas on the UW campus. Everyone and everything newsworthy, especially at the local level, is at the behest of your opinion, no matter what that opinion happens to be. It can be predictable liberal nonsense or ridiculous conservative ranting. It can be serious, outrageous or hilarious. But must of all, it can be yours, no matter who you are.
If you have an opinion, then the page you are reading from should be the page you are writing for, and I will do everything in my power to make it possible for you to do so. If you already have an interest in writing for the opinion page next year, please e-mail me at the address below.
Finally, I have a hard act to follow next year in taking over for Bassey Etim and Emily Friedman. Their persistence and hard work have put together an outstanding editorial page five days a week for almost eight months out of the year, and I am only now beginning to realize the size of the shoes I have to fill. Luckily, I will have a great partner in Jason Smathers, next year's editorial page content editor, and Bassey will most likely be looking over my shoulder scrutinizing my every move as next semester's managing editor.
Expect great columns, a few new bells and whistles, and most of all, expect the page to be ready and waiting for your opinion.
Andy Granias (agranias@badgerherald.com) is a sophomore majoring in political science and international studies.
Anonymous (May 10, 2007 @ 10:23am):
Granias I can't wait for you to suffer through next year - miserably.
Anonymous (May 10, 2007 @ 2:18pm):
Granias, people talk. Just remember that.
Anonymous (May 10, 2007 @ 2:29pm):
"Lauren: 3, Eli: 0.
The candidates went on to discuss a variety of other issues -- well, mostly Lauren did -- that separated the two opponents even further. The issues included attention to the Allied Drive community, the Alcohol Density Plan, city transportation and housing concerns for UW students, among others -- all of which would have made my unofficial scoreboard look more like the score of a basketball game between the Badgers and the East High School varsity squad, with Lauren getting the win."
The next God of this page wrote THAT? You're an offensive prick.
Anonymous (May 11, 2007 @ 3:23pm):
Granias, why don't you write about some of your off the cuff remarks this year in Sellery? hmmmmm?
Anonymous (May 12, 2007 @ 3:40am):
gee thanks granias for promising to keep the status quo going... was the student body supposed to expect a hostile, totalitarian takeover of the page this summer....?
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