What's new? How can I help you? Nope, not the normal opening to a column in a newspaper. But this isn't a normal opinion column. I'm the new ombudsman for The Cavalier Daily, and I'm here for you. Never heard of an ombudsman before? Well, I'll try to explain a little about the job in this space. But first, how about a bit of an introduction.
I graduated in May from NYU with degrees in Journalism and History and a minor in Music. I'm originally from Tenafly, N.J. I'm currently 21.
I'm writing this column on my last day of a summer reporting internship at The Boston Globe (Shh, don't tell my editors!). Here, I've covered everything from courts and cops to wolves and band geeks. Before this, I had a reporting internship at the New York Daily News for a year and a half. I also spent two summers with The Associated Press, one in New York in a sports department and one in Rome. I welcome any budding journalists who have questions about the biz to write to me, as well as anyone else who is curious. If I can be of any help, I'll certainly try.
My college newspaper experience is extensive. I started at NYU's Washington Square News as a terrified but extremely eager freshman, covering news, sports and features. Sophomore year I became news editor, junior year I served as features editor, and then junior and senior year I was managing editor, before retiring to the lofty position of "associate editor," which basically meant I got to hang around the office with my friends and help out. I never really delved into opinion, so there's my warning: this is my first opinion column.
But I see this less as an opinion column and more as a way to make a newspaper more interactive. With my experience in the college field, I understand the daily challenges that face student reporters and editors and can hopefully help you, the reader, understand that as well.
My main purpose is to help you understand how the final product came to be, what questions were raised in the newsroom, and how they were debated. Here's where the opinion part comes in: I'll offer my humble critique on the newspaper and staff. As with all things on this page, mine will simply be an opinion. Feel free to disagree.
E-mail me with questions about anything in the newspaper. If I can't help you, I'll find the appropriate person who will. But mainly, my job is to field concerns about, as newsombudsman.org puts it, "accuracy, fairness, balance and good taste in news coverage. He or she recommends appropriate remedies or responses to correct or clarify news reports." The Cavalier Daily has hired me, ostensibly, in an attempt to improve its coverage, forge better relationships with the University community and help answer complaints from the public in a timely manner.
One thing I've noticed in my career is that newspaper editors and reporters are notoriously bad at answering e-mail and phone messages. It's not -- necessarily -- because you're not important. It's just that many of these students work 60-hour work weeks on top of full time school schedules. Please give them a little leeway. If you're really having trouble getting through to someone, I'll try to help.
We're also open to your suggestions. After all, I'm here for you and you'd probably know best how I can help.
Talk to you soon.
Lisa Fleischer can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.
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