THERE are people out there who, unfortunately, will do or say almost anything to get attention. Think of the countless reality shows on TV where people will eat bugs, or hurt or humiliate themselves just for the chance for the spotlight.
The same is true for groups and people who want media attention. The difference is the news organizations aren't always looking for ways to get these people airtime or print space, but are sometimes obligated to give them that attention just for standing out, just for being different.
When the Woroniecki family came to town, The Cavalier Daily had to cover the rally they held because of the newspaper's mission of keeping people in the University community informed about what's happening around them.
Michael Woroniecki and his family, a group known for traveling across the country spreading their unique message about their religious beliefs, stopped at the University on last Monday, held up signs and shouted their message at people passing by. Community members turned to The Cavalier Daily the next day to answer some of the questions they had about this group. Who were they? What were they doing on campus? What did they want?
The article published on Tuesday ("Police intervene in religious demonstrators") gave a decent account of what actually happened, describing the spectacle to readers, and explaining the decisions made by the University higher-ups and police.
Readers complained that they did not get enough background on the Woroniecki family. In fact, it wasn't until about halfway down the article when a paragraph of background appeared: "The Woronieckis said they have toured college campuses throughout the United States, Europe, Morocco and Central America for over 30 years preaching their message."
Later, Michael Woroniecki provided the reporter with some other information: The family earned money working at places like Chuck-E-Cheese and Home Depot, and he found God when he played football at Central Michigan College. He learned about religion and became disillusioned with the "system."
This is clearly not enough to understand what the Woronieckis are all about, nor did it provide any information about his religious beliefs, other than the fact that he had them. The reporter could have contacted an expert to give a bit of background on the family and provide some history on their movement. Surely there's a University professor who would have studied the family or could provide context for groups like this.
One sentence giving background -- that Woroniecki believes that he and his clan are six of only eight people on Earth who are "saved," and that everyone else is going to hell -- would have at least provided some basis for who they are and what they are trying to disseminate.
Then, fourth-year College student Simone Grant's comment that the demonstration would spark discussion on Grounds, would actually have some weight behind it, because Cavalier Daily readers would have been at least basically educated on the mission of this group.
It's all about context.
Context is one of the easiest things to forget to include when writing an article, because reporters are focused on what happened that day, what is new. But it is one of the most important tools they can give readers.
One other article that ran in the past two weeks also failed to provide context on a different level.
Anyone who has read The Cavalier Daily at least once or twice a week in the past few weeks will likely remember the controversy sparked by the Architecture faculty, which criticized the University's choices in architecture around campus.
Two articles about new construction decisions were published last week without even mentioning the controversy on campus about University buildings. ("University selects South Lawn architects," Oct. 5, and "Architecture School breaks ground for expansion," Oct. 6)
I couldn't understand while reading the articles why nobody in the Architecture faculty had been consulted or asked for their comment about the decisions. Whether the professors thought the changes were a good idea or not, they at least would have been logical choices to consult, considering the fact that the two articles addressed the very subject they had been agitating about.
The Cavalier Daily is a single, unchangeable daily product. Yet its writers and editors need to remember to look backward and forward when creating the content. Only in this way will they remain the source that people on Grounds trust for information about what is happening in their own backyards.
Lisa Fleisher can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.
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