Before I go into a rather random set of critiques, I want to clarify the role of the public editor because a commenter was confused by something in my last column. Despite the term “editor,” I do not have any role in actually altering content in the paper. While I… Read more »

I had sort of hoped that the Herald would have a little more time before a content-based controversy hit the paper. In some ways, it hasn’t happened yet. Even when the registration issue of the paper included an anti-abortion insert, which was criticized for dubious claims, the Herald received only… Read more »

If you take anything away from this column, let it be this: If you have any interest in journalism or gaining writing experience, join the Herald. Now. They want and need you.After seeing a few issues following last week’s registration issue, one looming issue is starting to present itself: The… Read more »

There is nothing more pleasing to a Herald or Cardinal employee than the sight of the year’s first paper on the racks. Then the next day comes. And while the sight of that massive paper inspires pride, the criticism starts almost immediately — both from the student body and the staff… Read more »

Between incoming section heads lacking managerial experience and hiring outside talent to fill key staff positions, Kevin Bargnes is likely to hit some bumps along the road when he takes over as The Badger Herald’s new editor-in-chief. But Bargnes, the newspaper’s chairman and CEO, seems confident about the upcoming academic… Read more »

Dear TC Mask: Drop the mask, start being funny or least make sense next time you write. Or else, I’ll see you at the nearest arena, you cowardly luchador. Truly yours, the public editor. The Monday column “Greek issues need old school solution” was a clear affront to the editorial… Read more »

It’s a beautiful spring afternoon on the University of Wisconsin campus. You’re done with classes and don’t want to have anything to do with homework. After all, that 20-page research paper due in three days can always wait a little longer. So you walk down Library Mall, watch students hang… Read more »

Welcome to this semester’s Public Editor column. My job is to critique The Badger Herald’s coverage and investigate reader complaints about the work done at 326 W. Gorham St. I invite you to use this forum as a way to voice your concerns and questions and help keep the Herald… Read more »

“Don’t bury the lede” Legend has it that this journalism clich� was first told to the aspiring cave journalists, who had a nasty habit of putting the drawing of the guy killing the mammoth after the one where the hunters sat around the fire contentedly with round bellies. In modern… Read more »

When The Badger Herald published a Nov. 9 article about UW linebacker Maurice Moore’s arrest for suspected drunken driving, it concluded with a quote from student Ald. Bryon Eagon. “It’s important for students who are driving to know there are plenty of alternatives for them to use, such as cabs… Read more »

“An [sic] letter from the Tavern League” That was The Badger Herald’s headline for the Madison/Dane County Tavern League’s Oct. 29 letter to the editor. The letter from Tavern League President Barb Mercer contained 27 instances of “[sic],” which is normally inserted by newspaper editors to denote errors made… Read more »

If the day-to-day editing of a newspaper can teach a lesson in two words, it is surely these: be careful. On Oct. 9, The Badger Herald ran a news article that said the Associated Students of Madison decided to no longer fund unlimited SAFEcab rides home for SAFEwalkers. The… Read more »

Last week, the Herald began covering one of the biggest stories of the year with an article that contained a relatively serious factual error. The article by Jamie Golob reported ASM’s Student Services Finance Committee denied funding to Wunk Sheek and the Campus Women’s Center, but the Herald’s reporting… Read more »

Nobody is perfect, but most news organizations pretend they are. They make a mistake, acknowledge it in a space too few will see and pat themselves on the back for being magnanimous. The reasons why they make mistakes or difficult editorial decisions are left to internal politics, which shield an… Read more »