Letter to the Editor
Michael Souza responds to The Rotunda's political coverage
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Opinion
Dear Rotunda,
I would like to compliment this year's Rotunda staff and faculty advisor for what I perceive as a significant increase in journalistic quality, substance, and performance. Seeing as how I will be graduating in the spring, I can positively say that I haven't felt the need to avoid The Rotunda like the plague as I have during my previous years at Longwood. However, while I laud all of these changes for the better, there is still much room for improvement.
My biggest issue with The Rotunda this year has been with the "Election 2008" section coverage. Prior to evaluating the substance of the coverage, I was surprised and delighted to learn that both sides would receive equal representation. I welcomed any shift from what I perceived as the blatantly one-sided bias towards the left and characteristic of previous Rotunda journalism. However, I was very disappointed with the quality of the "Election 2008" section. No justice is served if the reader gets the impression that the "commentary" of each opposing side is just regurgitation of the typical propaganda spewed by both sides. If I wanted to hear both extremes, I'd just watch Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity. It would have been nice to see both sides given with a more neutral tone, respecting of both candidates, such as consistently demonstrated by the Rotunda Editor-in-Chief A.J. Karidis (keep up the good work by the way). It's a big turn off to read an article by a journalist that neglects to provide the merits of the opposing argument, and reeks of extreme fanboyism that idolizes a candidate as if they are infallible.
Respectfully,
Michael Souza
I would like to compliment this year's Rotunda staff and faculty advisor for what I perceive as a significant increase in journalistic quality, substance, and performance. Seeing as how I will be graduating in the spring, I can positively say that I haven't felt the need to avoid The Rotunda like the plague as I have during my previous years at Longwood. However, while I laud all of these changes for the better, there is still much room for improvement.
My biggest issue with The Rotunda this year has been with the "Election 2008" section coverage. Prior to evaluating the substance of the coverage, I was surprised and delighted to learn that both sides would receive equal representation. I welcomed any shift from what I perceived as the blatantly one-sided bias towards the left and characteristic of previous Rotunda journalism. However, I was very disappointed with the quality of the "Election 2008" section. No justice is served if the reader gets the impression that the "commentary" of each opposing side is just regurgitation of the typical propaganda spewed by both sides. If I wanted to hear both extremes, I'd just watch Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity. It would have been nice to see both sides given with a more neutral tone, respecting of both candidates, such as consistently demonstrated by the Rotunda Editor-in-Chief A.J. Karidis (keep up the good work by the way). It's a big turn off to read an article by a journalist that neglects to provide the merits of the opposing argument, and reeks of extreme fanboyism that idolizes a candidate as if they are infallible.
Respectfully,
Michael Souza
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