In an age of declining newspaper sales, we’re always trying to find new ways to reach new readers.
Especially on editorial pages.
Who knew we could do it with just four words?
Colorado State University student editor J. David McSwane got the attention of thousands, maybe millions, of readers with his simple four-word editorial last week in the Rocky Mountain Collegian newspaper. As you probably know, it read: “Taser this … (Expletive) Bush.”
Give him points for being concise and direct – two ingredients of an award-winning editorial. And give him mad props, or whatever lingo the college kids are using these days, for its effectiveness.
But it’s hardly worth defending.
McSwane, who intentionally set the firestorm, says he was merely trying to stoke an important conversation on an otherwise apathetic campus. Now the arsonist is being swallowed by those very flames. But hey, kid, they’re talking about ya, and isn’t that always the goal?
Like all provocateurs, including Ward Churchill, McSwane has now wrapped himself in the Constitution. (He’s lawyered up, too – another great American tradition. And, surprise, he even picked Churchill’s lawyer.)
“Our judgment is certainly being challenged, but if standing by quietly while free speech is scorned on a college campus is a step in the right direction, you’ll find the Editorial Board and me skipping in the opposite direction,” he said in an early statement.
But this isn’t really about free speech. The Constitution protects our right to use unpopular words and to print unpopular thoughts, and few people quibble with that. This is really about college kids trying to stir it up, and not knowing their boundaries.
It’s about experimenting and screwing up.
College newspapers are wonderful incubators. Budding journalists can swing for the fences and, if they strike out, only a few people, usually, are watching. But these days, when news stories are beamed around the world in seconds, and high-traffic websites like the Drudge Report can link to your follies, a college newspaper’s reach can be global.
I thought of my college newspaper adviser this past week, and remembered how he would clench his teeth and literally wring his hands whenever our features editor would try to slip a cuss word into a concert review in a college-boy attempt to be edgy.
He would constantly challenge us: Are you cussing to be cool, or because it’s an important part of the story?
Inevitably, he was right.
Eventually, all student-journalists learn that the First Amendment comes with responsibilities.
Despite all of the heated rhetoric surrounding this saga, the lesson is simple.
Learn something. Move on.
Not just a pretty face
You’ve no doubt noticed some changes to your Post today, and to our Perspective section as well.
Consider it a makeover for an old friend. While we’re still committed to giving you insightful commentary from local and national writers, along with thought-provoking editorials, cartoons and letters to the editor, we hope you’ll find some new items of interest, too. And join us online at . We’ve added new features there in recent months, including more places where you can join the discussion on issues that matter to you.
Let us know what you think.
Dan Haley can be reached atdhaley@denverpost.com.
