It's a new day in Warrior Land, and the Pathfinder is there to dutifully record it ...
THE GOOD:
- Amy was all over the news that President Dene Thomas is leaving to take a 46 percent pay hike in Colorado. (Sweet! Where do we sign up for that kind of action, particularly in this economy?) Couple that with an action photo and you have simply outstanding news coverage. I would bet Amy got an adrenalin rush from being on the scene of major breaking news. Major for the L-C campus community, anyway.
- The theme of this week's Page 2 columns was spring fever, and Amy, Jed and Kasi all had sage advice to offer on the subject. A most excellent classroom doodle by Mr. Sam Maynes joined them on the same page.
- I realize it's a lot like swallowing Castor oil, but that was a good call to run the critical letter to the editor on Page 5. If there's any justice in the world, a bevy of loyal Pathfinder readers will rush to your defense and put that thilly thod of a history major (lower case, BTW) in his place.
- Katy astutely diagnoses the semi-entertaining but plot-less "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."
- Jeremiah continues to impress with his musical range, doping out the White Stripes' new DVD release. I especially appreciated this passage: "Jack White's guitar work is like fire: It's erratic, wild and dangerous, all the while maintaining melody and beauty that most punk guitarists forget about." Nice linguistics, dude.
- Nathan's Quick Bits touches on a variety of subjects, offering some local commentary on issues that extend beyond Normal Hill. And that's a good thing.
- Lindsey's latest Student Health should be required reading for all incoming freshmen, not just at LCSC but colleges and universities across the country. A very persuasive and well-written argument sprinkled with humor and backed by facts — muy bueno.
- The sports section covers all its bases with a rundown of the previous weekend's athletic activity and Jed's theory of bracketology leading the way. Stellar job with the headline writing in that section, BTW.
- Given the late-breaking nature of the story, it was a solid decision to run the letters to the editor concerning the closure of Campus Espresso. I look forward to reading more in-depth and evenhanded coverage of that story in this week's issue, and I'm sure a lot of other folks are as well.
- Excellent question and interesting responses in Word on the Street. The typography was a tad bit small for this old fart's eyes, however. Let's try to keep the text point size at no smaller than 9-point for that hugely popular feature.
THE NOT-SO-HOT:
- The only quibble I have with the story on Thomas' exit is the lack of campus reaction to the news. It would have been nice to hear how student and faculty leaders feel about the news. The Tribune didn't have much of that in its initial story either, so even the professionals will hit speed bumps sometimes. Anyway, something to consider as you continue covering this saga in the weeks and months ahead.
- Had a factual glitch in the caption of the movie still photo on Page 6. The character's name is Greg Heffley, not Zachary Heffley, at least according to the story.
- Another quibble, not quite as minor: As I was reading the otherwise praiseworthy Student Health column, I wondered where the recent statistics involving alcohol-related deaths on campus came from. I'm pretty sure they're accurate but as a journalist, I'm skeptical by training. By citing the source for that data, you give your argument that much more credibility.
- Here's a better headline for the news release on business tech students' trip to Boise: "Biz tech students place at state competition." And here's why: The acronym "BPA" can refer to any number of things, most topically Bisphenol A, the harmful plastic used in some baby bottles that is quickly being banned, and the Bonneville Power Adminstration, a Pacific Northwest power utility. Advice: It's always better to avoid alphabet soup when it comes to acronyms. There are a few that are widely understood (mph, FBI, GPA), but most aren't.
- The brief about guest speaker Leobardo Morales refers to the date of his speech as Wednesday, March 31. Unfortunately that's the same day of this issue's publication; should have been referred to as "today". Yet another reason why those news release puppies need to be house-broken.
- The action shot of Warrior pitcher Tyler Knigge throwing toward the plate was a great photograph that wasn't quite done justice by its compact size. This backseat driver thinks it would have been better to run that sucker big and make the shot of Brian Burke into a thumbnail mug or lose it entirely.
THINGS TO WORK ON:
- It's Durango, Colo., not Durango, CO. In journalism, we don't use post office abbreviations. Refer to the AP Stylebook for state abbreviations.
- We seem to be having difficulty navigating the treacherous waters of Semicolon and Colon. I'll try to put together a cheat sheet in time for Tuesday's meeting.
- Spring, as a season, is not capitalized. Neither is summer, fall nor winter. Confusing, I know, but they're not classified as proper nouns.
- Cracker Jack is two words and capped, as a trade name.
- I know it sounds weird to say but it's attorneys general, not attorney generals. They're lawyers, not military leaders, after all.
WRONG RIGHT
thirteen-year-old 13-year-old
internet Internet
over more than
BA bachelor's degree
Political Science political science *
1:00 PM 1 p.m.
12:00 PM noon
12:00 AM midnight
west coast West Coast
* Unless of course you're referring to the famous Randy Newman song of the same title, in which case it's capped and has quote marks around it as a composition title.
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