In the interest of improving The Badger Herald as a source of quality journalism, the position of ombudsman was established last semester to act as a kind of public editor — an editor whose role is both critic of the publication and advocate for the reader.

With the end of the semester upon us, I'd like to use this final column to offer my top three recommendations to the future Editor in Chief, Taylor Hughes:

Continue producing, researching and writing a real guidebook for future editors and writers. This semester, the Herald has been largely removed from major or blatant ethical problems. Nonetheless, some have arisen — which I have been reluctant to pass judgment on one way or another.

Case in point: This semester, several opinion writers, and even the editor in chief himself, have used the pages of The Badger Herald to promote their own, personal blogs. In the case of Mac Verstandig, this blog includes his own conservative political views and even positions on matters unique to The Badger Herald. For example, he wrote on the blog prior to the Herald's publishing of a controversial Danish cartoon that he was in favor of doing so. Moreover, he is knowingly creating, populating, and promoting his blog with the intention of making real money from it one day. Lastly, he has used the blog to promote certain writers instead of others.

If we put aside for a moment that blogs like his lend credence to the view — albeit a misplaced one — that the Herald's pages are being maliciously slanted by strong conservatives, there is still an obvious conflict of interest. The editor in chief is in the final position of making all editorial decisions for the newspaper. What is to prevent him from using that influence to publish content beneficial to his own blog, which he is hoping will make him money on the side?

Fortunately for the Herald and its readers, few really read Mac's blog, as even he will admit. Moreover, not once in the entire time that I have known him have I suspected that his political or personal views ever affected the substantive decisions he has made for The Badger Herald. Nevertheless, the door has been opened, and a system must be put in place such that the Herald will no longer rely on the better angels of one editor's nature. This is one reason why the Herald needs a real journalism ethics guidebook. The Danish cartoon fiasco is another.

Institute a real recruiting program for new writers and editors. As it currently stands, editors are primarily hired from within. Writers, in turn, are recruited through in-house ads in the paper, or through friends who currently work at the Herald. The only reason I ever became a columnist and editor was because I had a personal "in." I knew two former editors in chief and their two best friends during the spring of 2003. Eric Cullen, who was the editor in chief-to-be at the time, hired me as an editor from outside the Herald. That itself was considered highly unorthodox, and he got some flak for it from inside the newsroom.

I include this example because it is the exception rather than the rule. I'd like to see the exception become the rule. A simple Craigslist posting could yield many more candidates, and possibly many more hires at the writer level. Moreover, some real competition among a large, well-connected writing staff would yield more diverse, higher-quality copy. In turn, the Herald could hire a better group of editors, bringing more to the table.

Besides Craigslist, the Herald could advertise more on its website, promote more using WSUM, send e-mails through friends, use Facebook announcements, and get even more ideas from advertising personnel about how to get the word out. Setting up tables and just being more of a presence at student events — especially during SOAR and the first few weeks of classes — would generate interest and help with the writer recruitment process.

Overhaul the way the Herald finds content. Senior editors at the Herald — especially those in the news department — would surely admit that they are understaffed. Wouldn't it be nice if they had a big group of well-connected writers? Improving recruiting could certainly get all of the departments halfway there. That is not impossible.

The difficulty lies in making sure that that crop of writers is well-connected. Here's a thought: Assign certain writers to certain student groups, legislators, City Council members, coaches, athletes, venues, bands, or other newsmakers. Get those writers to contact them regularly. Give them all call sheets and use the editors to monitor how many they make per night. Dig for content by making connections with the people truly creating it. And above all, understand that most student groups don't recognize the importance of developing press relationships with student newspapers. Go out and do it for them.

Lastly, I want to thank Mac for inviting me to write as ombudsman this semester. This is a position that I hope will continue in coming years and develop into a very important voice for the Herald and its readership. Best of luck to the soon-to-be graduates. And for those of you who have a few more years to go: Enjoy it.

Paul Temple ([email protected]) is the former Badger Herald editorial page editor. He is a 2004 graduate of UW and lives in Madison.