Dear Editor,
Working for a college newspaper should be an experience that will help to build your resume when applying for a professional journalism career in the future. My question is directed to the staff person who writes “ass” and “hell” in a headline and to Chris Bellamy, author of the article, “Dignity died with debut of Disney’s damned Ducks.” Do you honestly feel that these clips will boost your resume and help you to be hired as a professional? I highly doubt it.
I am not sure where you learned how to write a newspaper article or where you learned how to edit one, but I am sure that swearing is not AP-Style.
The understanding is that you are trying to be liberal. My point is that you can be liberal and still have professional looking product in the end. You can be left wing and radical in your writing style without using swear words to back up your point. Swearing in no way enhances an argument, instead it lowers your credibility and you lose the respect of your readers.
It is sad because Mr. Bellamy may have had an interesting view point and a good argument, but with “hell” being used almost ever other line, it was no longer professional or enjoyable to read.
I have also noticed that the Chronicle has an ad, “Did we piss you off today?” Is your goal to “piss off” your readers? Shouldn’t your goal be to report the news, to improve your writing and to learn how to be a journalist rather than trying to piss people off?
I have been studying journalism for five years. I have served many positions on two other college newspapers, including an editorship. In my experience swearing is not professional and not used by any newspaper in this country that you would be hired by. I have chosen not to work for the Chronicle because I believe it would be a detriment to me resume. And until you decide to clean up your act and become more professional, I am sure you will continue to drive away many other talented journalists, and the quality of your paper will continue to suffer.
Katie Higgins, Mass Communication, junior, [email protected]