Wanted: Alert, vocal readers

Seldom in life do we get a second chance to make a first impression, or so the shampoo commercial goes. \nWell, I'm going to give it my best shot.\nThe ombudsman column -- for those unfamiliar with it -- is a space for discussion and dialogue about the IDS, media ethics and journalism in general. \nSome of the topics this column dealt with last semester include the IDS sponsorship of coach Bob Knight's farewell speech; an IDS reporter receiving -- courtesy of an advertiser -- an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City; the difficulties involved in reporting a student's suicide; and the news media's highly suspect coverage of Election 2000.\nThis will be my second semester serving as this newspaper's ombudsman, and I look forward to helping you, the readers, get the most out of the IDS. \nThe newspaper itself has new leadership, with senior Brooke Ruivivar heading up the management staff as editor in chief. She and her colleagues will do their best to keep you informed with solid, dependable, objective and accurate reporting about the world around us. \nBut when they fail in this endeavor -- or when you think they have failed -- the ombudsman might be able to step in and explain or correct the situation.\nSo what exactly does the ombudsman do? First and foremost, I'm here to respond to your complaints, suggestions and comments. If you want to know why something was covered by the IDS, why it wasn't, or why its staff did what you perceive to be a less than stellar job, I am a good person to contact. Especially if you would rather not write a letter to the editor for publication.\nIndeed, some problems are resolved behind the scenes, simply via phone call or e-mail exchange. But sometimes one complaint will lead me to write an entire column about whatever ethical or journalistic principle has been called into question.\nI don't have any agenda or list of topics to write about in my column. That's why I need you to let me know what you like, what you don't like, or whatever else you might have to say about the IDS. You may do so by sending e-mail to me at idsombud@indiana.edu.\n"The ombudsman is the newspaper's hired conscience," Joann Byrd, former ombudsman for the Washington Post, said. She also describes the ombudsman as an internal critic, someone who "spends (his or her) days judging people's work and telling them they are failing the public in some … way."\nSo, the ombudsman is definitely not a cheerleader, according to Byrd's philosophy. But I tend to take the good with the bad, and hopefully more of the former, especially when the IDS does something commendable that might otherwise get overlooked.\nThe flip side of this is not fun. And it's not a good way to make friends in the newsroom. Sometimes the ombudsman has to point out the ethical lapses and bad judgment calls on the part of a newspaper's staff that might otherwise go unnoticed. But I can't and won't notice every error, so the IDS readers must be alert, vigilant and willing to speak up when the need arises.\nThe IDS is not perfect. It's run by full-time students who attend classes in addition to getting the paper out each day. It's going to contain errors and misprints. Its staff is going to make mistakes. Some of these mistakes might seem small and innocuous at first, but will be seen as much worse by readers. \nCase in point: Last semester's front-page story that incorrectly referred to the date of the Pearl Harbor attack as Dec. 7, 1947. These are the kind of simple errors that slowly erode a newspaper's credibility. They are also the kind of errors that must be avoided and eliminated. \nWith your help, the IDS can do just that. \nWithout readers, a newspaper is nothing. With readers, a newspaper is read. But with alert, vocal, and forthright readers, a newspaper can be exemplary.\nWith your help, the IDS can become that. \nThink about what you read in the IDS and don't be afraid to speak your mind --doing so will only make your campus newspaper better.