Editorial: Balancing Act
Collegian pledges to reduce bias

September 11, 2008

It comes as no surprise that we at the Collegian are quite often the victims of various criticisms. Our readers have frequently identified situations or issues that they found troubling and have been forthcoming enough to let us know about their concerns. Though we welcome such criticism, it proves difficult to act on every issue that is brought up.

In the past (and recently) readers have noted that the Collegian seems to express a liberal bias, a criticism we share with many media outlets. We often endorse Democratic candidates in elections and most of our editors lean to the left in their political commentary.

This criticism is valid. It would be foolish and incorrect of us to pretend that these complaints have no basis in fact. It proves too difficult to prevent these facts from showing up every single week. Occasional lapses are inevitable.

Rather than accept the fact that our paper is composed of liberals and simply continue on as such, we have committed to make an earnest and meaningful effort to balance out our paper.

If you read the Collegian consistently, or have read at least our first two issues this year, you will certainly have noticed that the majority of political articles in the Commentary section were written by conservative writers. In fact, there have been far more pro-McCain articles in the Collegian this year than pro-Obama articles.

This week, our Commentary Magazine features articles written about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Unfortunately for the Collegian, we did not release an issue during the week of her nomination due to the Labor Day holiday, but we are remaining committed to allowing writers to share their opinions on the issue, positive or negative.

In the past, we have found that Democratic candidates and their respective employees have been more eager to interact with student papers like the Collegian. Just recently, a representative from the Obama campaign approached us about participating in a conference call with Obama supporters and other scholars. We jumped at the opportunity and took part in the conference.

Unfortunately, we did not receive a similar invitation from the McCain campaign. Rather than give up, however, the Collegian made a proactive decision and attempted to contact the McCain campaign ourselves. Sure enough, we got in contact and they happily complied, allowing the Collegian editors to compile interesting information on a candidate whom, to be honest, our staff knows less about.

We certainly are not perfect here at this paper and we are definitely not completely balanced. However, we are trying. Perhaps the most important ingredient in a fairer newspaper is the readers. We ask those who wish to see more conservative or Republican content on these pages to contribute. If you have a clear cut opinion on a political matter, please, write about it. We love to pick up new writers and anyone is welcome to make a submission. Ways to contact the Collegian are advertised throughout the paper, so please, do not hestitate to contribute. In an effort to make our newspaper more balanced, a little help can go a long way.