Getting 'Poynters' in journalism

Most of the staff members at the Indiana Daily Student spend a good amount of time stuck inside the newsroom. When it comes to making decisions about the paper we encourage everyone to give us their opinion, but sometimes we forget to think like the reader and think about how our decisions will be perceived. We can easily fall into the same groove and think with one-track journalist minds.\nWe always tell our reporters that to get the good stories, you have to get out of the newsroom and into the world where stories occur. \nThe same holds true for advice.\nLast week, for the first time that I can remember, we as a staff looked outside of the box enclosing the newsroom and Ernie Pyle Hall we so often turn to and looked outside of the University and the state for help.\nThursday we were poised to print a news analysis piece in the Nation and World section of the paper labeled "Drafting America," when we realized we had no guidelines for what a news analysis piece was. What was the difference between that and an opinion column?\nA cursory search online yielded no answers and we turned to the Poynter Institute's Web site where we found the number of a 24-hour hotline. The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists that offers guidelines on ethics, writing tips and diversity for media institutions and the students who study there. \nMuch to my surprise, I was connected to a man who I later found out was Bill Mitchell, the director of publishing and editor of Poynter Online.\nAfter discussing the content of "Drafting America," he offered simple but insightful advice. A news analysis, he said, offers background, behind the scenes and contextual information for the reader -- things they couldn't find in an article. An opinion piece, however, would offer a point of view or request a specific action from whoever was the topic of the article. \nWhile we didn't base our opinion entirely on Bill's advice, it did factor greatly into our decision. We analyzed the piece and decided too much of the article was one-sided, and it would be misleading to print inside a news page -- at least without a counterpoint opinion next to it. \nAfter a discussion with the staff sharing Bill's advice, we weighed our options. We could wait and find someone who felt the opposite way about the topic, or we could simply publish it in the Opinion section. We opted for the latter.\nWhen it comes to making ethical decisions, it's important to note there is no right or wrong answer. Whether we agreed or not with Bill's advice didn't matter. Taking the step to get outside feedback is the first step in serving our readers. As journalists, we must recognize we in the newsroom will frequently disagree with each other on decisions that must be made. Our readers, too, will disagree with our choices, and we welcome the opposition. \nThe true test of journalists comes with knowing when to stick to your guns and knowing when to ask for help. After all, if you keep yourself stuck inside that glass box without asking for pointers, you aren't really serving your readers.