When I was in college, I was the editor of @thedbk. Following a series of accidents that injured athletes, who were known to zip around campus on sleek red mopeds, I okayed a cartoon that set off a firestorm of outrage. You can still see it here: http://www.collegemediamatters.com/2010/11/03/diamondback-cartoon-angers-maryland-football-players/ (1/)
The football program threatened to revoke our access. Several @merrillcollege alumni called me to tell me I should resign. A reporter from the Baltimore Sun wanted a comment.
It was overwhelming. It made me question my own judgment, my right to be in this profession. (2/)
It was overwhelming. It made me question my own judgment, my right to be in this profession. (2/)
But it also forced me to sit down & work out the ethics of the choice I had made — with my colleagues, my mentors and people whose judgment I trusted more than my own gut.
And you know what? It taught me something. That's what student journalists are supposed to do: Learn. (3/)
And you know what? It taught me something. That's what student journalists are supposed to do: Learn. (3/)
I'm grateful today that Twitter didn't exist then in its present form, that there was no army of blue-check-mark professionals virtue signalling at my expense.
Student journalists don't have it all figured out. Hell, neither do professionals. What we do have is experience. (4/)
Student journalists don't have it all figured out. Hell, neither do professionals. What we do have is experience. (4/)
To the @thedailynu journos at the center of this: We all screw up. It takes guts to own it & strength to learn from it. Keep striving to be better. My DMs are open.
To everyone else: If you're worried about "the future of journalism" — teach, mentor, take an intern to lunch. (5/
To everyone else: If you're worried about "the future of journalism" — teach, mentor, take an intern to lunch. (5/
Related: The full statement from Medill's dean, Charles Whitaker, is worth a read. (6/6) https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/news/2019/statement-from-dean-whitaker.html