March 22, 2012 Every publication is influenced by something- be it editors opinions, outside politics, or publication ownership. They all decide what direction the publication takes. This week we came across the issue of how much we let University influences guide us in the direction we want to take this publication.
Our online publication is run by the Editing II class of the University of Minnesota Duluth. Therefore, this publication has a professor at the head of the class. John Hatcher acts more as an advisor than as a professor for this class and with this role we had to decide how hands on he was or how much we let him guide and shape this publication.
As a class but more so as a newsroom we decided to take a cue from the theme of this week, the theme local. We wanted this to be run by the newsroom associates and not by the owner of the course. This decision was tough to make simply because John Hatcher has much experience and insight. However, advising only leads to so much knowledge. It is our own experiences that teach us what we need to learn. This newsroom decided it was our direction, our influence to guide us. We will make our mistakes and revel in our achievements as they come not because we were guided by others but because we guided ourselves.
As Lauren will say about the neighborhoods she explored, we want to earn and create our own prestige for this publication and keep it credited to ourselves, not follow behind in other's reputations.
Lauren Renneke talks about her article about the local neighborhoods of Duluth.