It can be easy to skim a newspaper, take in the headlines and
visuals, and then move on.
I admit it ““ there are days when I look through the Los
Angeles Times or New York Times and quickly move on, putting my
mind back to class or another concern of that day.
But then there are other days. There are days when I read a
headline and immediately call a friend to ask whether he has heard
the news.
Sometimes the purpose of the call is shock. Maybe I need others
to confirm that they heard the report too before I can believe
it.
Other times, my response to the news I read is dismay or
distress. On those occasions, the purpose of the call is to vent
anger or share concern. (I have been known to throw things in
frustration, though never anything breakable.)
And on occasional reads, the call I make is to share good news
and relay something I know will bring excitement.
At its best, the news represents facts just as they are and
allows readers to respond accordingly.
I realize perhaps you think this only occurs in an idealized
world. Perhaps you have become jaded by bias in the media and
expect the facts to be skewed and twisted to bring you around to a
certain opinion.
Perhaps you find it improbable that a news source would truly
just present the facts.
But I think it’s OK to live in an idealized world, or at
least try to. We can, and should, strive to reach an ideal in every
activity we do, no matter how distant that ideal may seem.
I will strive for idealism in the News section of the Daily
Bruin.
And in giving you information about the latest decisions from
the administration, developments in science or global events, I
hope to affect you in the way I am sometimes affected when I read
the news.
I hope that when you read The Bruin, you find something in it
you want to share with a friend or something you think about after
you close the paper.
The media has the power to do many things ““ it can pull
people together in shared sorrow; it can bring excitement or anger
to a person’s day; it can present information that could
change a person’s life.
However you react to the news you read in The Bruin, I hope it
is not with indifference.
I would rather you throw the paper down in anger at the content
of a story than idly toss it aside.
It is my goal this year to bring you the news that matters in
the most clear way possible.
That goal is certainly not revolutionary, I know. But I want The
Bruin to do for you what the best news can do: tell you what you
need to know.
But I can’t accomplish my goal very well on my own. I may
want you to think the Daily Bruin staff is all-knowing and
all-seeing, but we’re not. We want and need your input.
If you don’t see the news you care about covered in the
news section, tell me. You can tell me what you think I should
cover, and maybe what you think I shouldn’t cover.
Now that you have seen my picture, you can even stop me on
campus if you would like, though it would probably be easier to
call or e-mail me. You can reach me at staylor@media.ucla.edu or
310-825-2795.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Taylor is the 2006-2007 news editor, and she is wondering
whether publishing her phone number and asking students to stop her
on the street was such a good idea.