Can You Hear Me Now?

Christopher Byram, opinion editor

I’m not a very good opinion writer, and I can’t really be considered much of an opinion editor, either.

I don’t usually write about anything of much consequence. Most of my articles are full of pomp and self-righteous idealism that ultimately goes nowhere. I don’t enjoy writing about things that don’t have any real purpose behind them, but that’s not really any of your business. So far, this article doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, either, but that’s entirely alright because this particular article does have a point. It’s even relevant.

I’m going to take my time getting to that point, however, simply because sometimes that’s just the way things are. I’ve still got at least 70 more words to get through before any of this starts tying together. It’s coming, just stay with me.

The thing is, I get to write an opinion article about whatever I want to, as long as it has a clear opinion. Typically, my ridiculous articles drift by without much trouble, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I really don’t care too much about what any of the newsroom buffs have to say about the nonsense I get away with writing, but that’s mostly because they don’t care, anyway.

I don’t write anything that’s especially worth reading, and I would be fine with that if I was the only writer on this publication, but I’m not. There’s 38 writers, photographers, general staffers, and 9 editors. All of these guys put in hours and hours of hard work trying to make a difference, trying to get something noticed. For the most part, everyone’s doing a fantastic job. We have some really amazing writers, and the editors have been doing a great job –they’ve all been especially patient with their new opinion editor (that’s me). I don’t really like everything that’s been published, but that’s not to say that I want people to stop writing about the things that they have a passion for. My own personal complaints are just that, and nothing more. I do my best to let the author of a particularly nice article know what I think about his or her work, and that isn’t always easy due to my own schedule difficulties.

I try to make a big fuss about things that I don’t like, mostly because I complain about everything. But part of that fuss is because I think that it’s important for people to have appropriate feedback in order to effectively communicate with each other –even if it’s not necessarily positive feedback.

It’s important for people to voice their thoughts about the things that they like –or the things that they don’t like. It’s part of communication, and I think effective communication is one of the most important aspects of living a healthy life. Everyone should practice it.

But to bring things back into focus, everyone should practice effective communication with us. That is, the staff here at the Plainsman Press. I don’t really think I should have gotten away with half of the articles I’ve written, but that in and of itself is an entirely different issue, altogether. No one’s really told me to stop writing, so I’ve kept to it, but I’m just using my own editorials as an example; I don’t want the reader to mistake my intent here, so I’ll spell it out nice and clear.

I don’t think we can take an accurate account of how well we, as a staff, are doing with our publication. Every once in a while, a letter to the editor will come to us and cause a buzz throughout the newsroom, but those aren’t as common as I think they should be. Some of us are writing excellent articles about relevant, important issues –and I don’t mean just opinion or editorial articles. But generally those sorts of articles cause the most trouble by their very nature.

I’m not talking about me. I can’t stress that enough. I’m fine without someone telling me whether I’m right or wrong, or writing well or not. Frankly, I’m going to do it, anyway. I’m talking about the other 37 writers that are part of this publication. These are your peers, your classmates, your friends that are pouring out their hearts and talent, and they deserve a good slap on the back for their hard work.

I’m not asking for everyone to write 10 letters an issue letting us know how we’re doing, but it would be nice to have some feedback every once in a while. If you read something that rubs you the wrong way, then let us know. If you read something that you think is an amazing article, then let us know about that.

Half of us are writing junk because we don’t really think anyone’s reading, and who do we blame for that? I think we can blame ourselves, surely, but the readers should also be held accountable, also.