It’s good to be back. Today marks the start of the 118th school year in which the Daily has been published. For many students, the way the Daily works is a mystery. It shouldn’t be. This is your newspaper. Here are some answers to questions people often ask about the Daily. If you have others, please e-mail me at grossman@michigandaily.com or call me at 734-647-3336 and I’ll try to answer them.
Can you really print whatever you want?
Yes. All editorial decisions are in the hands of students. When we send the paper to the printer at 2:30 a.m., only students are in the building (we have a beautiful newsroom and offices at 420 Maynard St.). There are some professionals around during the day, but they don’t have any say over editorial content.
Of course, we don’t print whatever we want. We strive to tell the most important, interesting stories about life at the University of Michigan. We work to provoke debate about the issues that matter (or should matter) to students. We try to be fair and accurate.
But sometimes you aren’t fair or accurate.
That’s true. Like most organizations run by humans, we sometimes make mistakes or let our biases cloud our coverage. If we get something wrong, we want to fix our mistake. Please let us know by e-mailing us at corrections@michigandaily.com. We’re not going to be upset if you report an error. We’re not going to hold a grudge against you or your organization. We’re going to thank you.
If there’s something that you keep seeing in the Daily that you don’t think belongs there, get in touch with me at the above address or phone number and we’ll talk about it.
If you think you could make the Daily better and have a little bit of free time, come join us.
Who runs the Daily?
The Daily’s editorial staff (as opposed to the business staff, which is responsible for generating the $1 million in revenue every year that this newspaper requires) elects editors every year. Those editors are usually experienced staffers who are ready to take on more responsibility. Becoming an editor at the Daily is often a grueling process. Candidates stand in front of their section (or in the case of the editor in chief and the editorial page editor, the entire staff) and field questions for hours before staffers vote. Those editors are then responsible for managing the paper for a calendar year.
Can I join the Daily?
As long as you’re a University student. The Daily hires dozens of new staffers every semester. You don’t have to have any journalism experience or be an English major. We want people from every corner of campus on our staff. For more information about joining the Daily, e-mail me or stop by one of our mass meetings. They’re on the second floor of the Student Publications Building, which is located at 420 Maynard St., right next to the Student Activities Building. Here are the dates:
• Thursday, Sept. 4, 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m.
I have an idea for a Daily story. Who should I tell?
If there’s something going on at the University that merits coverage, e-mail news@michigandaily.com or call the newsroom at 734-763-2459.
Please let us know if something interesting is going on. We want to cover as much of campus as possible. Help us out a bit by letting us know what’s going on in your neck of the woods.
How can I express my opinion in the Daily?
You don’t need to work at the Daily to get your voice in the paper. Here are a few ways to use the Daily to express your opinion.
• Send a letter to the editor by e-mailing it to tothedaily@umich.edu or visiting michigandaily.com/letters.
• Submit a viewpoint. We’re always looking for people to share their thoughts or experiences on the Daily’s opinion page. Viewpoints should be 400-600 words and shed some insight on an issue that’s important to campus. Send viewpoints or viewpoint ideas to Editorial Page Editor Gary Graca at graca@michigandaily.com.
• Apply to write a column. Applications are due by Friday, September 5 and are available at michigandaily.com/column
Thanks for reading. I’m serious about readers e-mailing and calling with questions, ideas and comments. This is your newspaper. Don’t let us screw it up.