I have had my share of emails start off with the same refrain: Your paper is horrible. 

The reasons abound: You’re full of liars. You lack morals. You’re racist. Sexist. Xenophobic. 

When I worked at The Badger Herald, especially as Editor-in-Chief, I got these emails and phone calls on a daily basis. You can always write letters to the editor, but for some, that’s not enough. A published tirade can be dismissed as quickly by editors as an Anti-Shout Out. 

It’s not that the employees don’t care about what the public thinks. Quite the opposite: Herald employees are fiercely defensive of their paper. It’s just that sometimes the quote on their sweatshirts are taken a little far – the Herald can be, at its worst moments, “dangerously close to cult status.” 

But the editors this year understand the need to step outside of the offices once in a while and get a better look at themselves. This year, I’m helping them – and you – do just that. 

This year, I’m serving as the paper’s public editor. I intend to review the paper on a daily basis for the fundamentals of good journalism: well-sourced stories, ethical treatment of sensitive issues, appropriate coverage of campus minority groups (in every sense of the word) and well-reasoned choices when putting together the paper. 

A bit of disclosure off the bat – I had a rough time with this during my tenure. While I was happy with the strength of our journalism and work of my colleagues, we had controversy. Allowing an advertisement on our website that advocated denial of the Holocaust was only the most high-profile of my blunders. There are a range of other smaller issues that occurred during my time that I’ll bring to bear on some of the situations that may arise, but just for disclosure’s sake, know this: I wasn’t pristine and wouldn’t claim to be. 

As such, I don’t intend to pull punches with you or editors in this column. Writers and editors will be given a chance to defend their decisions, but I will be giving my opinions as well. I don’t want to see this as rendering judgment on the paper, but suggesting redirection when they’ve made a mistake and giving a thumbs up when they’ve done something worthy of praise. 

Anyone and everyone who reads the paper should feel free to contact me when they have issues with the paper. Those concerns will be voiced in a weekly column along with my observations. And don’t hesitate to point out any area of the paper that seems “off” to you. Even misunderstandings of how the paper addressed a topic or operates on a daily basis can be a helpful exercise for the public. 

Jason Smathers ([email protected]) is a reporter covering the state Capitol for WisPolitics.com. He was editor-in-chief of The Badger Herald from 2009-2010.