Last week, the Northern Star received
a letter to the editor criticizing the newspaper staff for not covering
events and for covering only negative stories that happen in the NIU
community. This is a common complaint, so we thought we’d dispel
rumors of biased coverage with an explanation of how we determine
what appears in the Star.
Q: Why do you write only negative
stories?
A: We don’t. Our goal is to provide
information to the NIU community - both good and bad. Sometimes, negative
news takes priority to positive news. As a newspaper, it’s our
responsibility to write all kinds of stories - even if it is about
a man who was hit by a freight train last week or the fight that occurred
outside Husky’s Grill and Sports Bar.
Q: Who determines what appears in
the Star each day?
A: Every evening, a group of about
11 Star editors - all of whom are students - meet to discuss stories
we have on deck for the next day’s newspaper. Stories are placed
throughout the newspaper based on their overall impact on the NIU
community and their pertinent section.
Q: My group never gets covered, and
some groups get covered too much. Why is that?
A: As the primary source of news for
the NIU community, we strive to print stories we feel affect the bulk
of our audience. Because space in the Star is limited, we’re
not always able to cover everything that happens in the area. That’s
why we’ve dedicated a space in the newspaper, called FYI, for
readers to learn about events we might not have been able to write
a full story on. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to cover every
event in the community with a staff of about 50 student-reporters
divided among different sections of the newspaper.
Q: What should I do if I know of something
that should be covered in the Star?
A: Tell us about it! While we try
to do our best to know what’s going on in the NIU community,
we rely on your input. If you have a story idea or are part of an
organization that has an event coming up, feel free to contact us.
Also, if you’re part of an organization that has an upcoming
event, stay close to your phone. The Star often tries to call sources
for information about stories.
Q: The Star is commonly criticized
as having biased reporters. Are they?
A: Absolutely not. Part of being a
journalist requires writers to approach their stories from a neutral
viewpoint. If a reporter has a known conflict of interest (for example,
writing about a group or organization to which he or she belongs),
they are not assigned the story. As a newspaper, it’s our job
to provide untarnished news and let our readers form their own opinions.
Q: If reporters aren’t biased,
why are the articles that appear on the Perspective pages obviously
opinionated?
A: Writing that appears on the Perspective
pages of the Star are not articles - they’re opinion columns
written by columnists, not reporters. The Star employs about 10 students
with different perspectives on current issues. The columnists and
the columns they write should not be confused with unbiased reports
and articles that appear in the newspaper. Columns reflect the opinion
of the author, not necessarily that of the Star staff.
While the above questions aren’t
the only ones that exist about what it takes to operate a daily newspaper,
we hope they shed some light on why we do what we do at the Star.
© 2004 Northern Star. All Rights
Reserved.
