With the recall saga finally over and the results of the ASUC general elections coming out tomorrow, the university news team would like to take a moment to reflect on this semester’s ASUC elections coverage.

The General Elections

During the ASUC General Elections, we often faced questions as to how to provide in-depth coverage of the candidates while still providing enough background information for new freshman and transfers experiencing their first elections seasons. The issue of including joke candidates in articles about ASUC Executive Offices also posed issues—should we even cover a candidate whose major platform is building a fence? Or do we owe it to our readers to provide equal coverage of all candidates listed on the ballot?

This year we tried to focus our profiles of candidates around issues pivotal to that office, while making mention of their other platforms as well. However, we are still unsure of whether this is in fact the best policy—as it sometimes kept us from focusing on issues that greatly differentiate candidates. (Click here to read more…)

There are several reasons that a newspaper might undertake the grueling task of a redesign. Some see it as a way to increase readership, others view it as an opportunity to introduce new features, and some are just sick and tired of looking at the same elements everyday. Perhaps one of the more important reasons is to create a design that not only meets the needs of individual sections, but helps the reader better navigate the paper.

When a paper makes the decision to undergo a redesign, often one of their first moves is to invest a chunk of money to conduct research to see what their readers are looking when they pick up the paper. They take this information and begin to create a new layout that attempts to meet both the readers needs and the needs of the section editors.

Unfortunately, the Daily Californian does not have the funds to hire a consulting firm to find out what visually entices our readers. Every department of the paper values input from the readers, even the design department. If you have any ideas about what you would like to see in the Daily Californian as we take steps to begin a redesign please send them to design@dailycal.org.

Even if it’s a simple complaint of the type being too small to read or you don’t like a certain font let us know. You might see the changes you suggested when the redesign is finished.

Editors at the Daily Cal constantly give feedback to each other, but not surprisingly, some of the best feedback comes from our readers through comments and e-mails. Readers are not only unconditionally honest; they also provide an “outside” perspective to the organization. They can question practices so ingrained in our minds that we don’t think about them actively all the time.

One of the more interesting comments left in the arts & entertainment section was on an article by writer Matthew Peters about a local exhibit by Napa Valley artist Valerie Raven:

I’m shocked that you’ve stopped exclusively trying to be a fifth-rate Entertainment Weekly by covering mainstream movies and albums … [and] report on the one thing which you are maaaaybe qualified to talk about, Berkeley’s scene. And what do you do? Shit on a local artist? Give me a break!!

This excerpt of this anonymous comment points to questions all college newspapers and smaller publications face: Why cover mainstream releases when so many well-known outlets already cover them? Shouldn’t smaller papers focus on the local scene? (Click here to read more…)

Where is the line when determining acceptable advertising content? A few years back the concept of front-page advertising was sacrilegous, yet today even the venerable New York Times has picked it up. As newspaper revenue slipped, and then tumbled away, we’ve all asked ourselves, what’s next?

Well, today we found out. The Daily Bruin, our sister paper down at UCLA, ran a full-page ad for Haagen-Dazs on their front page. Their entire front page. The ad was designed to look like the front page of the Bruin and included their masthead, articles and photos, except that each instance of the letter “b” had been removed. On page two, Haagen-Daaz ran a full-page ad calling on readers to buy vanilla honey-bee ice cream to support the company’s bee-friendly garden. (We’re happy that at least they didn’t remove the letter from the masthead. They might never live down “The Daily ‘Ruin.”) For more, see the post over at Innovation in College Media, aptly headlined “Not the sort of innovation we need.”

A couple months back, Haagen-Dazs approached us about the same ad. Knowing that given our finanical condition we shouldn’t turn down any revenue outright, I took the proposal to the Senior Editorial Board. Much to my delight, I was laughed out of the room. This is clearly a step too far. And apparently, the Daily Bruin editors agree. In an editorial they released today, the editors called the decision to run the ad “distasteful at best – and dishonest and unethical at worst.” We know the editors down there, and know they are neither dishonest or unethical. But it does seem they let threats about thousands of dollars worth of budget cuts get the best of them. (Click here to read more…)

The Daily Cal, for obvious reasons, is no stranger to the hard knocks afflicting the newspaper industry right now.  If you thought you were sick of hearing about how journalism is supposedly inching closer to the grave with every tweet of some amateur blogger’s Twitter,  just imagine how we feel.  Seriously, “constant bombardment with prophecies of impending doom” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

That being said, though, all the change and innovation in media is kind of exciting.  Newspapers are no longer limited to the information they can fit onto a few slices of mashed tree pulp every day, and with online commenting, dialogue with readers is actually viable. Sure, having unlimited space for information can be intimidating, but it’s still pretty cool.

The tricky part is figuring out the ways to make the most of these opportunities using (for lack of a less obnoxious term) “new media.” The Daily Cal certainly doesn’t have all the answers, but you can be sure we’re doing our darndest to figure them out–even if that means we have to experiment … a lot.

For example, do we honestly think Twitter is a god-sent solution to all of journalism’s problems? No, probably not.  Can we understand why it’s popular? Yes.  Can we see why it’s useful? Totally. The point is, the Daily Cal is giving it (and anything else that may come along) a try, so let us know what you think.

Which brings me to my next point: the return of the Editors’ Blog, and welcome to it!  The editors will be here, generally discussing why we do what we do.  So if you have a question about an editorial decision, ask us. If you’ve got something to say, say it.  We’ll definitely be listening …