Earlier this month our editors met for a three-day retreat to discuss the DTH's goals. We crammed 35 editors into a small room for as many as 12 hours a day to hash out last year's strengths and weaknesses, as well as improved approaches to coverage.
Among other things, we worked out a mission statement to guide our coverage -- to be an independent, comprehensive news source that vigorously gathers and accurately presents information that affects the University and its surrounding community while responsibly training future journalists.
There are a few other things I should tell you as you get to know this year's DTH. First, and probably most importantly, we're independent from the University, meaning that we get no funding and that we have no adviser.
Because of this, we play a different role on campus than you might think. We're not a publicity rag for the administration or student government. When it comes to the news, our role as professional journalists supercedes our role as students. We strive to give credit where credit is due and shed light in dark areas.
Many college papers don't cut financial ties with their university because it's a scary risk to take. The DTH is a nonprofit organization funded by advertising revenue -- a tough situation in this poor economy. Our papers have been smaller than ever, and we have to make tough calls when deciding how to use our limited space. If you're interested in that process, let us know and we'll let you sit in on one of our budget meetings.
It's also important for you to know a thing or two about our editorial page and the Editorial Board. The news and editorial sides share no connection except that I am the final word as to what prints. I am a strong believer in the First Amendment, and whether I agree with anything being said by a columnist or the Editorial Board, I won't censor it unless it's obscene or libelous. To maintain our objectivity in coverage, no editors other than Editorial Page Editor Lucas Fenske and his assistant, Jon Harris, have any say in what appears on this page.
The people who determine what goes on this page, in turn, have no effect on our news coverage. Fenske and Harris strictly oversee an eight-member Editorial Board that is the institutional voice of this paper. The DTH editor also sits on that board, although this year I have decided to strictly act as a resource for the board and will not vote when a consensus is being reached. It's just one way I feel I can help ensure that bias does not seep into our news coverage.
That's a very brief introduction to our paper. Our ultimate mission is to serve our readers, so if you have any questions about what we do or concerns about how we do it, please let us know. It is my pledge to you that our doors -- and our ears -- always will be open, even if we don't agree.
