The only staff-generated business story in last week's paper appeared on the Life page. Wednesday's Focus page consisted of a giant graphic, and there was no Health & Science page on Thursday.
Previously, I've only touched on problems in the paper's weekly sections in passing. But all three weekly sections -- Business, Focus and Health & Science -- seemed to fall through the cracks last week. The pages displayed an unfortunate lack of creativity and effort on the part of the staff.
Let's start with Business. The section has been lifeless so far this year. For the past two weeks, the top stories on the page have not been articles at all, but columns that are a) way too long, and b) on topics that are not particularly relevant to the University. The staff has filled the remainder of these two pages with Associated Press business articles and briefs. The composition of the weekly Business page has rarely been robust enough even to merit the designation of a separate section for business news.
And after I looked over the Business page last week, I flipped to the Life section and found a story about the McIntire Business Institute, a five-week program to help liberal arts majors gain practical business experience. This story should have run in the Business section.
Throughout the semester, in all of the 10 regular editions of the paper that included a Business page, I count exactly three business stories related to the University. I count at least five columns, and various other stories that have nothing to do with the University. Topics have included Germany's economic health and Islam in Indonesia.
I'm also confused as to why there is a business columnist at all. If the page had a staff large enough to produce its own news articles each week, I might be able to see the justification for a commentator. But if you don't have news, it seems a little silly to have a columnist. What will the columnist comment on? Clearly, the balance is off. The Business staff should be able to do better; after all, the University has both undergraduate and graduate schools of business. It shouldn't be too difficult to find something to write about.
As for the Focus section, I spent several minutes flipping through the paper last week, trying, in vain, to find the section's second page. The first was just a big flowchart illustrating the honor system. And unfortunately, there was no second page.
The flowchart was a waste of space. It was redundant and hard to follow. All of the information included about the honor trial of Adam Boyd had already been printed in The Cavalier Daily in the form of stories when the case was pending and during the trial. A (smaller and simpler) chart depicting the evolution of an honor case would have been handy when the newspaper was still writing about the case. I can't imagine what purpose this chart serves for readers now.
The Cavalier Daily shouldn't print a story that includes the exact same information it had run in a story weeks earlier with no new developments. Changing the format doesn't make the information new again. A proper Focus page would have been a much better use of paper and ink.
As for Health & Science, it apparently evaporated. If you're going to have a weekly page, make sure it's there every week.
Improving spotty Swim coverage
To the 10 people who responded to an apparent call for a letter-writing campaign concerning The Cavalier Daily's swim coverage: Your message has been heard. The Cavalier Daily sports staff has spoken with the team's coach, who has given them more input for improving coverage. The sports staffs coverage plan has also been extended. In addition to previewing and recapping all home meets, the sports editors plan to run features on the team when there are away meets they can't cover.
The staff has been open to what constructive criticism it has received, and is happy to take story ideas and tips. I encourage all of the people who wrote me letters complaining to take the editors up on that offer. Send story ideas to me at ombud@cavalierdaily.com, or to the sports editors at sports@
cavalierdaily.com. One reader encouraged the staff to dig into the details that reporters live for. Well, try. But if you already know what the story is, tell us!
(Masha Herbst can be reached at
ombud@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | YesterdayInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
SHRAUGER: McIntire’s three-year model limits opportunities for first-year students
By Alex Shrauger | 4 days agoBy pigeonholing students into commerce so early, the University violates its own mission of providing a holistic education that produces students capable of succeeding in a variety of fields.
