As journalists, our goal is to get information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. But sometimes officials who delay communicating information to us can impede this process.
No one was prepared for the loss of businesses, homes and possessions in the aftermath of one of the most destructive fires Athens had ever witnessed.
Ohio University is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to transition from burning coal to burning natural gas by the end of 2015, we reported Thursday.
Following the serious mishap in Wednesday's paper, The Post is working on improving accuracy, especially with photographs.
Post editors have concluded that students are glad to have any opportunity to interact with President McDavis around campus
We should be more cognizant of what veterans do for us all year long, not just on the day we’re told to.
Much to our disdain, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld laws that ban same-sex marriage in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee in a 2-1 decision Thursday.
Thomas Suddes, an assistant professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, a longtime Ohio political reporter, a dear friend and mentor to many of The Post staffers, will be inducted into The Press Club of Cleveland’s Hall of Fame on Friday.The selection could not go to a more deserving person.He’s established as arguably the most knowledgeable person on Ohio politics. He spent about 20 years covering Ohio legislation for The Plain Dealer and ran the newspaper’s Columbus bureau from 1988 to 1990.He’ll be the first to tell anyone he was nominated for The Press Club of Cleveland’s Hall of Fame because of how long he worked in the city, not because he was particularly special. But we beg to differ. He’s one of the most humble journalists we’ve encountered, and he sets an example for us that has been modeled by Posties for the past 15 years.Chances are, if you’ve worked in the Statehouse throughout the past three decades, you’ve had an interaction with Suddes. He is revered by those he writes alongside and by students he teaches here at Ohio University and is respected by those he covers.Suddes has critiqued our content since the beginning of the last decade and has been integral in helping Posties land internships and jobs throughout the country. We really can’t thank him enough for all he’s done to help us forward our publication and our careers.From all of us involved at The Post, we would like to wish Dr. Suddes a warm congratulations for a much-deserved induction and a continued thank you for everything he helps us with.Rock on, Suddes.Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
A common refrain I hear from students is that many don’t know what The Post is or where they can find one of its newspapers. That seems ludicrous to me — we drop off newspapers at 250 locations around Athens County — but it serves as a reminder that The Post staff has not done enough to promote its brand in recent years.And while we have taken steps to increase our visibility on campus this semester, we have not yet done nearly enough to show you, our readers, that we’re here every day as a resource.Our efforts begin with simple initiatives such as handing out newspapers at the top of Baker on Fridays during lunchtime. It’s a simple way for us to put newspapers in the hands of those who don’t normally pick them up themselves. They also include planning events that are helpful and fun for both our readers and staff.Earlier this year, we hosted a party at Casa Nueva to celebrate the launch of our new website. More than 100 people showed up, and we had a great time. We also hosted a reporting seminar last night for Scripps students who are interested in data reporting. More than 30 people showed up to listen to a pair of Columbus Dispatch reporters teach us some tricks of the trade. Not bad for our first try, I say. It was fun to see students get fired up about journalism, and we’re already on to planning our next event.We’re also working to outfit our newsstands with more colorful, eye-catching displays so you know where to find us on campus. Keep an eye out for those soon.Each of those separate initiatives — handing out papers, putting on events and making our newsstands more visible — serves the purpose of actively informing students of what we’re up to.What else should we be doing to spread the word about our work? I welcome your feedback, and — if you’re interested — your help. We’re always looking for students who are interested in helping our public relations and marketing operation.As always, thanks for reading.Jim Ryan is a senior studying journalism and political science and editor-in-chief of The Post. Think The Post is a relic? Having a hard time finding newspapers on campus? Contact him at jr992810@ohio.edu or on Twitter at @Jimryan015.
Around this time every year, a crop of local staff reporters and Post photographers gear up to report on the night’s election results.
Cast your ballots tomorrow, Bobcats.
Late Thursday night we published “#ProjectIntern,” a comprehensive look at the internship landscape for students in each of the eight colleges at Ohio University.The project was also the first time we published a project built exclusively for the website, with an interactive graphic displayed prominently on our homepage, that highlighted each college.If you haven’t checked it out yet, please take a look at some of the reporting a team of freshman journalists put into each of these stories. If you’re a student at OU, the content of at least one #ProjectIntern story applies directly to you.We’ll keep the project featured on our homepage for the foreseeable future as a result.We’re now past the halfway point of our first semester using The Post’s new website, www.thepostathens.com, and we fully plan on rolling out more web-friendly projects as the school year progresses.Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
State Representative: Debbie Phillips (D) Bipartisan Karaoke Night. That’s the phrase that grabbed our attention during our endorsement interview with Phillips earlier this week. That is in jest, of course, as Phillips brings more to the table than song and dance after three terms of representing Ohio’s 94th House District.Phillips, an Albany resident who previously served as an Athens City Councilwoman, currently serves as the Ohio General Assembly’s Assistant Minority Leader. She has a record of pushing for programs concerning access to education. Furthermore, she has been a regular presence at Ohio University, refers to Baker University Center as “Baker” like the rest of us and is an accessible resource for students.From our perspective, Phillips is the obvious alternative to challenger Yolan Dennis. When asked, Dennis could not produce exact examples of the issues facing students here at OU. Although Dennis has organized an impressive local following, we think Phillips would be the better representative of student interest at the Statehouse.The Post also endorsed Phillips in 2012, and we believe she has since been a good representative of Southeast Ohio.Endorsements represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors.
County Auditor: Jill Thompson (R)We think Jill Thompson is the best option for county auditor, given her 14 years of experience in the position and her ability to be aggressive and confident when holding county officials responsible for their uses of taxpayer money.Thompson has a firm knowledge of the county’s expenditure accounts, which allows her to patrol them correctly. Once Thompson was made aware of Sheriff Pat Kelly’s alleged misuse of funds, she asked for an audit of his expenses. It showed her willingness to respond to residents’ complaints of county officials and follow up with an audit when it was required.Her background in finance also lets us say with confidence that she’ll catch the county’s math “errors” and navigate the county’s finances to make sure officials’ expenses match their checkbooks.Thompson is (and has been) the financial watchdog we need for the county.Endorsements represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors.
On the day of last spring’s Student Senate elections, I had a conversation with a classmate who said she cast her ballot based on The Post’s endorsements.I can’t quote her directly some six months later, but I remember her saying something to this effect: “I don’t know enough about the elections to know who I should vote for, but I trust that The Post has done its research.”The best part: My classmate didn’t know I’m a Postie.After skipping out on general election endorsements last year, we have decided to bring them back for this year’s midterm. Our goal is to inform students (our primary audience) about which candidates have our best interests in mind.We’re publishing them today, four days ahead of Election Day, so students can read up and do their own research before casting their ballots. At the very least, these endorsements serve as yet another reminder that students should read up and get ready to vote. Our votes are important. I would also like to thank the candidates who took the time to stop by our offices or contact our executive editors over the phone. Their cooperation was integral in putting this endorsement package together, and we’re glad we were able to speak with so many of the candidates on this year’s ballot (They also made time for us on a tight time schedule, which we greatly appreciate).These endorsements exemplify The Post’s fundamental mission of informing our readers about the world around them. I hope they’re helpful as you all prepare to head to the polls.As always, thanks for reading.Jim Ryan is a senior studying journalism and political science and editor-in-chief of The Post. Glad to read our election endorsements? Think we got it all wrong? Contact him at jr992810@ohio.edu or on Twitter at @Jimryan015.
U.S. Representative: Steve Stivers (R)Steve Stivers has demonstrated an ability to work across the aisle with House Democrats and has proven to be easily accessible throughout his years in the House of Representatives — even to a college newspaper on the outskirts of his roughly 5,000-square-mile congressional district.GovTrack.us, a website dedicated to providing in-depth information about Congress, lists Stivers in the top 5 percent of all congressmen in terms of writing bipartisan bills, as 75 percent of the bills he wrote in 2013 had a co-sponsor from both parties.The website also lists Stivers as one of the most productive members of Congress, having co-sponsored 278 bills — the fourth-highest total among House Republicans.Scott Wharton, Stivers’ challenger and a Democrat who is also a Delta Airlines pilot, provides interesting competition. He is prioritizing keeping the costs of higher education low and seems to be easily accessible, much like Stivers.However, in this case, we prefer to go with what we know rather than what could be. Stivers has done nothing to lose the confidence of his constituents, and as one of the most productive members of Congress, he deserves to be elected to another two-year term.Endorsements represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors.
Common Pleas Court Judge: George McCarthyWhen Judge George McCarthy took the reins from retired Judge Michael Ward last year, he brought a slew of experiences with him. We would like to see his tenure continue after Tuesday’s election.Gov. John Kasich appointed McCarthy as judge after Ward retired.It’s important for the Common Pleas Court Judge to have a visible presence in a town flooded with college students, and we think McCarthy brings that to the table better than his competitor, Herman Carson.Though we think both candidates are well-qualified for the role, McCarthy’s numerous roles in the county lead us to believe he is the best candidate.McCarthy, who previously spent 12 years as a local prosecutor, would like to expand drug prevention and education and alcohol diversion programs with the intention of keeping students out of the criminal system. Because of his involvement in county affairs inside and outside the courthouse and his commitment to being involved with students, McCarthy has our vote as Common Pleas Court Judge.Endorsements represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors.
The Post published a story on Tuesday highlighting Asexual Awareness Week. Before reading the story, we admittedly didn’t know much about asexuality. We suspect many of you might be in the same boat.We urge you to track down the story and learn a thing or two about the small segment of our campus population that doesn’t experience sexual attraction. The student featured in our Tuesday story likened his attraction to viewing art or listening to music — he recognizes others for their beauty but doesn’t feel sexually attracted to it.Ohio University’s LGBT Center is welcoming of individuals who identify as asexual and is hosting a series of events about the sexual orientation this week. Wednesday’s event, a Consent in Ace and Aromantic Relationships workshop, begins at noon in the LGBT Center (354 Baker University Center.)We urge you to attend and learn a little bit more about asexuality and the people who identify with it.The phrase “Bobcat Family” is often tossed out to describe the close-knit community we pride ourselves in here. But we should take every available opportunity to learn more about each other.Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
The out-of-classroom setting is just as important as the classroom setting
“Gunshots fired on Court Street” are words that we, as students of this university and temporary patrons of this city, never want to write.
Solutions by The State News