March 3, 2011 - 5:07pm
Welcome to The Podium
BY RACHEL VAN GILDER
Hello, University of Michigan community, and welcome to The Podium.
The Podium is the blog for The Michigan Daily's opinion section. Like the Wire and the Game (the Daily's news and sports blogs) it will focus heavily on student-oriented news. But the mission of The Podium isn't just to inform: It's to increase discussion of campus, city, state and national issues that affect students' lives.
The purpose of this blog is not to function as a second set of columns, like those you see on the opinion page of the Daily and can be found under the "Opinion" tab here on michigandaily.com. Instead, this blog will introduce students to issues they may not be acquainted with and offer them to chance to discuss these issues. Each blogger has chosen a category of topics that they will typically focus on. For example, blogs from yours truly will usually focus on topics that the Editorial Board has considered writing editorials about, but have ultimately not made it to print. These blogs will direct you to other interesting content from various news sources, discuss issues and function as a forum for discussion.
This is The Podium's second incarnation. It was first born in 2007. In late 2008, however, the Podium fizzled out and died — but that was our fault. This time, things are going to be different. The Podium is now staffed by bloggers who run on a schedule. As a result, there should be updates five days a week. If you're interested in becoming an opinion blogger for the Daily, you can get more information about applying by contacting me at vangilder@michigandaily.com.
Readers are invited — and encouraged — to get involved in the comments section. Discussion only works if every perspective is heard.
Rachel Van Gilder
Editorial Page Editor
