As a journalism major and supporter of the Oregon Action Team, I have been absolutely appalled and embarrassed by the coverage this political slate has received throughout this campaign. Now, let me clarify that I’m not just a supporter of OAT because I’m friends with these people – I only know a handful of them. I want to see this slate elected because I know firsthand what each of its candidates represents and respect them as classmates and individuals. I am 100 percent confident that they’ll do the best job representing students next year.
Unfortunately for our campus community and journalistic integrity, the Oregon Daily Emerald hates OAT. It’s ridiculous. First and foremost, newspapers should exist to present necessary information in an objective and impartial fashion. However, the articles published over the past few days do the opposite. The ODE thinly veils its disdain for the OAT slate, bringing unsubstantiated claims to the forefront and badmouthing the campaign. Biased reporting like this is intended to sway election outcomes, and could do just that.
In Tuesday’s article, for example, the first paragraph is organized so that the reader’s first words absorbed are, “The Oregon Action Team gave minors fifths of alcohol in exchange for support in the ASUO elections.” Only after the comma – which breaks the sentence and the mind – do you learn that a member of an opposing slate alleges this action. The source? “An anonymous source speaking on behalf of a roommate who claims to have attended the party.” This could be somebody’s goldfish. Sorry, ODE writer, but this doesn’t work as a real, journalistic source. This article is full of insinuations and he-said-she-said’s that shouldn’t have been printed before further research! And, in inverted-pyramid style, the grievances filed against OAT are emphasized with primary placement, while the grievances OAT filed (and some really immature, slanderous signs created by opposing candidates) are stuffed into the tail end of the article.
And to emblazon a headline across the front page Wednesday that lacks substance, verification and truth – and is permitted to stay in newsstands all day, misinforming everyone – is an egregious ethical violation. The front page of your Web site didn’t even update its information until many hours after the administration’s announcement. I get that you’re not CNN.com, but I still expect more than the non-response you submitted to our student body.
The OAT is used to this treatment; it’s nothing new for them. But that doesn’t mean the ODE should continue to get away with it. We deserve a student newspaper that is really, truly fair and balanced, not trying to push its own political agenda on students.
Your lack of ethics and integrity are an embarrassment to the entire University, but especially the School of Journalism and Communcation. I may be an active, enthusiastic journalism major, but I would never consider working for or associating in any way with the Oregon Daily Emerald.
No one really knows why, when or how the ODE came to despise this popular political group, but the misinformation and biased reporting need to stop. Like, not to be rude, ODE, but I almost wish you’d stayed on strike. I’m pretty positive we would be much better informed about what’s actually going on with these elections if you had.