EDITORIAL |
THE SPECTATOR |
| February 1, 2008 |
Hamilton Media: Where Do You Fit In?Hamilton Media comes in all shapes and sizes. Whether it be the bright yellow 14x11 Daily Bull with its witty and often esoteric commentary and humor, the one-fold weekly Duel Observer with its poignant satire and true-to-Hamilton blue paper, or the ever-dependable Spectator with its awe-inspiring journalistic aptitude and overt editorial mishaps, Hamilton Media plays a vital role on this campus (WHCL, Red Weather, Hamiltonian and Continental: I have not forgotten you, but unfortunately my lacking creative eloquence has left me void of an infinite repertoire of witty descriptions). It is easy to see that Hamilton Media could not exist without the students who run the various publications. It is far more difficult to see that the existence of Hamilton Media depends on every member of the Hamilton community as well. So why, exactly, is this? It all comes down to one simple fact: media exists for its audience. Hamilton's publications are inherently linked to their faithful readers in the Hamilton community, and vice-versa. We exist of you and for you, and without your commentary we would be lost. Just like the various Hamilton publications, the feedback we all receive, and we all receive feedback, comes in varying shapes and sizes. Most often it is in the form of criticism. I don't think that any student who works on Hamilton Media can dispute the utility of criticism. We need it, we welcome it, and even if we don't adore it we learn from it. It is the mechanism that allows us to tune our publications to you, our readers. Many would, however, be quick to draw a distinction between healthy criticism and vindictive criticism. I assure you that I would be lying if I told you that The Spectator has never received an angry letter from a student who has found fault with some aspect of our content. Nor has there been any shortage in the past of feedback from the pages of other publications, nor for other publications in our pages. But simply because this criticism hasn't always been friendly, or even necessarily well intentioned, doesn't mean that it isn't an important indication of issues we must address. You all have an obligation to provide your feedback and opinions to help further improve Hamilton Media. After all, it exists for you. Likewise we have an obligation to listen, no-matter what. Otherwise we would be doing a disservice to our publications and to our readers. If we fail to maintain a connection with our audience the hard work that we put into our publications is futile. As Lord Apolon would say: a publication cannot exist in a vacuum; and as I would say: hence the word media. Take the recent Daily Bull stunt masterminded by Lord Apolon and company. Apolon explains in the exclusive interview featured in this issue that a publication must work sincerely to respond to the feedback it receives. Yet often these changes appear gradually and consequently may go unnoticed. Sometimes it takes a theatrical rebirth to draw attention to an actual rebirth. This is not, however, meant to be an endorsement of vindictive criticism. I thoroughly believe that anyone with an important opinion, observation, qualm, retort or suggestion can offer it, if not eloquently, then at least politely. When it comes down to it, you are far more likely to be listened to, not just heard, if you exercise good manners when choosing what manner in which to voice yourself. Likewise every Hamilton Media outlet has an obligation to provide feedback to every other. Though we, too, often forget our manners, we must never forget that we have the strongest, loudest and most widely heard voices on campus. We must reserve part of our voices for each other, but must also work together to promote our common objective: strong, appealing media that remains in touch with our audience and offers worthwhile content. We are closer now than ever to achieving our common objectives together. The first, and hitherto unprecedented, Hamilton Media recruitment and interest fair, scheduled for this coming Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Annex, fast approaches. It will be a benchmark for Hamilton Media and for the Hamilton community. So what lessons can we take away from this particular critique? For those of you who do not currently participate directly in Hamilton Media production: remember that you are still a vital part of the media process. We need your feedback and we want your criticism. So stop by the Media Fair this Tuesday and find out what we're all about, we'll all be there. For the other members of Hamilton Media: remember that we are all in it together. We have an obligation to support each other through cooperation and to keep each other on our toes through criticism. And to the Hamilton community as a whole: remember that we exist for you. You are a part of Hamilton Media whether you like it or not. by Martin Connor '09 With Special Thanks to Lauren Moon '09 |