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EDITORIALS

Jim Ryan

From The Editors Desk: Sexual assault series importance not reflected online

By JIM RYAN | Oct. 16, 2014

Today’s journalists are constantly juggling stories they think will do well online and ones that are essential to their mission of informing their readers. The Post is no exception to that trend. Over the past week, we have produced some of the best explanatory stories in The Post’s recent history, or at least during my tenure here. A small team of reporters and editors have dug into the topic of sexual assault in Southeast Ohio over the past month, producing stories about how to report a sexual assault and the resources available to sexual assault survivors, among other important topics.I’ve received an encouraging amount of feedback from the usual sources — university professors, alumni, administrators and friends. One alumnus wrote me a lengthy critique of our first story and called the series “a strong, ambitious piece of reporting for a college newspaper ...” A professor in the journalism school sent me an email titled “Outstanding — OUTSTANDING work today.” An administrator asked if I could make sure she gets print copies of each issue to use as resources for a contest she’s organizing.But the traction these stories have received online has been dismal.As of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the series’ four lead stories and a page linking to all of them amounted to about 6 percent of the week’s web traffic. None of the stories were in the week’s 25 most popular on thepostathens.com.For the sake of comparison, that top 25 list includes a feature on an Athens High School wide receiver who is being recruited by OU, news about F--kRapeCulture’s Friday rally and debate about whether the university needs an academic center specifically for student-athletes. It also includes a quick, timely story about Athens being named one of the best college towns in the country to spend a weekend by USA Today. That’s somewhat discouraging, but it’s also a sign of the times. Some stories are more popular online than they are in print, and that’s something we’re taking into account more than ever here at The Post.We know that what our audience wants to read is oftentimes different than what we think they need to know, and we’re aiming to put together an eclectic mix of the two every day.That’s the duty of a news publication in today’s digital age.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’s sexual assault series was a good use of resources? Looking for more listicles? Contact him at jr992810@ohio.edu or on Twitter at @Jimryan015.

The Post

Editorial: Greek Twitter unknowingly a hoax

Oct. 16, 2014

The Post published a story earlier this week about parody Twitter account @OUGreek as part of our “Social Tuesdays” series, which profiles area social media accounts and their moderators.Through a Twitter conversation with a Post reporter, its moderator claimed to be an OU student in a sorority. She said she would only speak to The Post on a condition of anonymity.As we later found out, she isn’t an OU student at all. The account has since been deleted.Needless to say, we got duped.The woman who used to moderate @OUGreek is apparently working as a social media intern for ClusterFlunk, a self-described “social platform that makes it easy for you to meet your classmates, make friends and study smarter.”The woman wrote on her LinkedIn page that her internship required her to maintain the @OUGreek account to build a rapport with students around Athens and tweet ads for ClusterFlunk once the audience believed the account was legitimate.She would later write on her Facebook page about how she lied to us in her interview. Then, she posted the story we wrote with the caption “OMG my internship is so scandalous!”Again, we got duped. We’ve also corrected our story online and in today’s newspaper.It is our policy for reporters to refrain from using anonymous sources, and any anonymous sourcing must be approved by The Post’s editor-in-chief before publication. Because of the nature of our “Social Tuesdays” series, in which many of the sources we contact do not want their names attached to the accounts they moderate, we did not exercise enough caution when moving forward with the @OUGreek story. Proper approval wasn’t sought by either the reporter or editor.Since learning of our missteps, we have vowed to adhere to our original standards for anonymous sourcing. Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.

Jim Ryan

From The Editor's Desk

By JIM RYAN | Oct. 9, 2014

The hype surrounding Homecoming Week and Ohio’s football game on Saturday has reminded me of a frequent question I was asked when I covered Bobcats sports as an underclassman.

The Post

Editorial: 'Post' backs general education program

Oct. 6, 2014

Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences rolled out a new program this semester that allows students to explore a topic within or outside of their major instead of enrolling in a swath of unrelated general education courses.

Jim Ryan

From The Editor's Desk: 'The Post’ gets back to its roots with 'throwback' front pages

By JIM RYAN | Oct. 5, 2014

You may have noticed that our front page looks a little different today. Per Post tradition, we will be publishing “throwback” front pages this week in celebration of Homecoming Week here at Ohio University. (OK, this is only the third year, but who’s counting?) This year’s cover is modeled after the 1963 Post, which is one of my favorite newspaper fronts from over the years.I scoured our archives for eye-catching headlines from ’63, and I found a handful of gems:Girls begin traditional manhunt to find dates for Coed Prom (Feb. 11)Solitaire, eights, hearts — big deals on campus (Feb. 26)Whew! Dorm radiators will continue to heat  (April 23)‘Spitless’ Toledo University takes it in ear (Oct. 10)To be honest, I still have no idea what that last one means.If you’re familiar with our Homecoming-Week covers from years past, you’ll notice that we’re doing things a little differently this year by featuring front-page designs reminiscent of OU’s olden days first and working our way toward The Post’s modern look. We did the opposite in the past.Our Friday edition will feature a classic Green & White design on its back cover.This will allow those who haven’t seen a print copy of The Post in awhile to see what we’re all about today, all while giving them an extra hint of nostalgia in celebration of Homecoming Week.Stick with us throughout the week for a bit of Homecoming fun and information about events happening around campus this week. And keep your eye out for us in the university’s annual homecoming parade on Saturday. We’ll be the ones handing out papers and causing a ruckus — all in good homecoming spirit.As always, thanks for reading. Jim Ryan is a senior studying journalism and political science and editor-in-chief of The Post. Let him know what you think of the homecoming front pages. Contact him at jr992810@ohio.edu or on Twitter at @Jimryan015.

The Post

Editorial: Replacement for treasurer gives hope to senate’s future

Oct. 1, 2014

At last week’s Student Senate meeting, Zainab Kandeh took over as the treasurer for the recently resigned Carter Phillips. In Monday’s edition of The Post, we wrote that Kandeh is looking to overhaul the Senate Appropriations Committee in a similar manner as Phillips had planned. In addition, Kandeh’s ascension to an executive position made this year the first that the top leadership of senate has been composed of three women.We’re pleased with Kandeh’s new role.This spring, we endorsed Kandeh — who was running for president on the Action ticket — as a write-in for vice president.At the time, we wrote that “Kandeh is the ideal person to become the intermediary between Marzec’s bold ideas and the existing senate structure. We think Kandeh, like Marzec, is also running for senate for the right reasons.”We also said that Kandeh “cares about students and wants to improve their experience at the university. She recognizes the organization is broken and wants it to change, even though her vision isn’t as radical as Marzec’s. But that’s a good thing. We think the combination of Marzec’s vision and mettle with Kandeh’s knowledge and leadership would be the ideal team to lead senate toward substantive change.”We think that Kandeh will present a unifying voice among senate leaders and she is more than qualified to be treasurer.The position may not have been what she desired at first, but having her voice at the top table is a positive for both senate and the student body. Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.

The Post

Editorial: Spending money for future Bobcats

Sep. 23, 2014

We reported in Tuesday’s Post that Ohio University has been setting aside increasingly larger portions of its nearly $500 million endowment for internal uses since 2011.

The Post

Editorial: OU protects attack victims

Sep. 22, 2014

Ohio University is now offering students the chance to report sexual assaults anonymously. This gives the roughly 50 percent of OU’s victims of sexual assault who do not want their cases investigated an outlet for assistance and resources, according a report in Monday’s Post.

The Post

Editorial: Support of center has catch

Sep. 21, 2014

Ohio University announced plans last week to build a new student-athlete academic center in the north end zone of Peden Stadium. The facility, which will cost an estimated $5.5 million, will be made possible by a $2.25 million donation from alumni Perry and Sandy Sook and will bear their namesake. The fundraising campaign that will cover the estimated remaining cost ($2.75 million) reminds us of a recent university fundraising efforts of larger means but similar significance. The Walter Fieldhouse, which sits next door to the site of the academic building, was made possible by a large lead donation, a subsequent fundraising campaign, and, later on, student fees.As long as this fundraising campaign doesn’t follow that same route, we support the idea of a new academic facility. We oppose the construction of the facility if it goes the way of the fieldhouse — which is available to all students, to be fair. This academic building would be used by only the approximate 450 student-athletes, so all students should not be tasked with supporting it. We already heartily support our student-athletes — with our fees and otherwise — so we think an additional cost to students would be unnecessary.Of course, there has been no indication that student fees will be used for the academic center. But that was initially the case with the fieldhouse as well — to the best of our knowledge. To reiterate our point: We’re in favor of improved facilities for our student-athletes as long as the necessary finances come from donors, not students. If that were not the case, we can think of better uses for our tuition dollars.Editorials represent the majority of The Post’s executive editors.

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