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Monday August 20, 2001 |
Something's different with today's paper, and I bet most of you hardly noticed it.
Turn to page one, in the top left-hand corner. There it is.
Our masthead (or logo, to those unfamiliar with the foreign language we use in the newspaper business) is different. In the past, the paper's logo had been a stamplike block with the word Wildcat burned into the corner with all the subtlety of a frying pan over the head.
Today's paper is a little different. As of today, we are - in big, black letters - the Daily Wildcat.
So what's in one measly word? Well, for the editor in chief (that's me) and staff of this year's paper, a whole lot.
Most people that read the Arizona Daily Wildcat are probably spoiled. Not to say that Arizona's version of the New York Times sits across the street from University Park Apartments, but - in the feast-or-famine world of college newspapers - the Wildcat is a heavy hitter.
We come out daily, as our new logo says. In fact, the Daily Wildcat has been coming out - under one name or another - every school day since 1899, a good 20 years before my grandparents were born. The Wildcat's own granddaddy of sorts, The Sage Green and Silver, was running successfully long before Arizona even became a state.
The Arizona Daily Wildcat's commitment to everyday excellence continues today. Our staff - a group of 70 or so student writers, photographers, and Web and design staff - has been working for weeks building up to the start of the new school year. While most students were lounging by the pool or soaking up rays, we were searching for stories, hiring staff, making phone calls, interviewing sources and doing research, all with one goal in mind: making this year's paper both entertaining and informative.
It's pretty simple, actually - if the Wildcat is fun and interesting to read every day, we're doing our jobs.
A lot of stuffy newspaper-types like to think the paper creates the news and it's the readers' job to suck it down like bad-tasting cough syrup. I disagree.
This year, the Arizona Daily Wildcat will be covering what you - our readers - care about. When the Tucson Police Department starts arresting underage students at bars, we'll be there. When a UA alumnus makes it big, we'll tell you. When the newly opened union gets slammed by students anxious to try the new food and see the new bookstore, we'll be there, too. When a hot local band gets a record contract, we'll let you know. When the UA football team takes on USC with the season on the line - you guessed it - we'll be pacing the sidelines.
We'll also be covering what you don't know about.
If there is corruption on campus, we'll tell you about it. If students are being swindled, we'll be there, trying to figure out why. When rashes of break-ins and other crimes start cropping up around the start of the school year, you'll find out. If an athlete becomes academically ineligible, we'll tell you.
I was once told that the job of a good newspaper is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. We'll try to do that, too.
But by that same token, we need feedback. If we fail to cover an issue important to students, e-mail us. If we miss the big story, let us know. Our goal as a newspaper is to create a dialogue with the UA community. That means two parties have to do the talking. So, please, let us know how we're doing.
The newspaper business can be a tough one, but I promise one thing - the Wildcat will continue to be informative and entertaining, capturing the essence of the University of Arizona experience as accurately as possible.
Daily.
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