I AM NOT much of a current music fan - I still listen to the same stuff I listened to in high school and college. I rarely go to the movies, and I attend plays even less frequently. But I love the Arts & Entertainment section of The Cavalier Daily.
Why? Simply put, it is interesting. Every week, this twice-a-week section has insightful and opinionated previews, reviews and features of both the national and local arts scene. It has interesting factoids down the left side of the page - did you know that Iron Maiden had the 10th-most popular Spanish single last week? Did you care? Maybe not, but it is still interesting, even amusing.
To be fair to the other sections of the paper, Arts & Entertainment does not play by the same hard-and-fast journalistic rules. One writing rule attributed to Mark Twain is, "If you see an adjective, kill it." This is a useful rule for hard-news journalists who need to convey a lot of information in a small space.
But applying the rule to Arts & Entertainment would be stupid. The very essence of previews and reviews is letting the readers know what you think.
The Cavalier Daily's writers do an excellent job letting us know what they think, whether they are writing about a student play, an independent film or a nationally-released album.
The writers are not hesitant to offer a strong opinion. In last Friday's review of "High Crimes," the second paragraph concluded with "I kept wondering if the filmmakers had any access to any editing equipment."
Another story that same day described a local film as "so inspirationally brief and simplistically precise that it's the cinematographic equivalent of a well-crafted Zen haiku." That may be a little heavy on the descriptive terms, but it is clear what the writer wants you to know - he liked it.
Another aspect that consistently impresses me is how knowledgeable the writers are (certain Grammy predictions aside). This may be a result of selection - choosing to review albums of bands the writers like - but it is still worth mentioning. Most of the music and movie reviews delve into the past work of a band, an individual musician, a director, a producer, etc. This improves the individual story, but it also gives the reporter credibility by answering the "Why should I listen to your opinion?" question.
The Arts & Entertainment section also has quick bits of information designed for the reader with a short attention span. I already mentioned the factoids occupying the left column of the page - they include information like local events, new releases, random staff-written rankings, and snapshot reviews.
Additionally, reviews feature a "Quick Cut" box listing title, actors or artist, and a rating based on five stars. My only complaint with the rating system is that where the stars are supposed to be, often there are little empty rectangles instead. This happens too often. The Managing Board is aware of this problem with the printer, and is working to correct it. But that is a minor quibble with a consistently strong section.
Newspapers print mistakes of varying degree every day. Some are typographical (like the rectangles), and others are factual. How the newspaper deals with the factual mistakes can play a big part in how readers view the paper in terms of its journalistic responsibility.
There are two basic approaches to factual corrections: One is to put the corrections in the same spot every day, and the other is to put corrections in roughly the same spot where the mistake occurred. The Washington Post does the former (putting all corrections on page A2), and The Cavalier Daily uses the latter.
Both options have positive aspects. Putting corrections in the same spot each day lets readers know what to expect. But putting them where they occurred appeals to the reader who reads only a particular section and may not take the time to look at a page he normally does not read. The front of Tuesday's Cavalier Daily B section had a correction -- putting it in such a high-profile spot shows readers the newspaper is serious about owning up to its mistakes.
Readers care about facts because facts shape opinions. I received an e-mail last month complaining about two opinion columns that misstated some facts about blood alcohol content laws in Virginia -- the reader was not upset but instead was worried the paper was contributing to the overall ignorance of the laws' details. Every word matters because if just one reader forms a distorted viewpoint based on inaccurate information contained in a Cavalier Daily story, the newspaper has failed. Corrections help minimize the damage when failure occurs.
Next Monday is my final column. If any of you have any year-end thoughts on The Cavalier Daily or journalism in general, please let me know.
(Matthew Branson can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.)
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