Amy Potter: Finding stories beyond the scandals

In the waning months of summer, Philadelphia's very own Allen Iverson has been very busy.

He's been spearheading the U.S. Olympic basketball qualifying team, renegotiating his contract with the Sixers and collecting a rather astonishing collection of American flag bandanas. And most recently, he has, taken to badgering the "big media circus" that surrounds the world of professional basketball.

This all comes, of course, in lieu of the abdication of Kobe Bryant from his former post of NBA "Golden Boy."

Although Iverson's diatribe against the "media" may not be the most eloquent -- "Everybody just keeps yapping and yapping and yapping and [nobody knows]" -- he makes a decent point. It's discouraging and, as a hopeful journalist, depressing to think just how consumer-driven and scandal-oriented the field has become.

I am petrified that in just over a year, I'll be working for a media outlet that requires me to camp out -- without breaks for showering or eating -- in front of a courthouse in Eagle, Colo., and beg for comments from Kobe.

But when I have those feelings of trepidation, I am reminded by former employers and current coworkers that producing information and news above Fox network standards is a choice that we consciously make.

More so now than ever, a free press has become imperative to American society.

Newspapers still deliver to the people what they might not know otherwise -- and that's exactly why we write. Although our own newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, covers a slightly different scope than The New York Times or The Washington Post, our intentions are similar.

Our objective is to deliver fair and compelling news to the West Philadelphia community at large, as well as provide our readers a forum through which to debate and discuss pertinent issues.

For 119 years now, the DP has covered changes across the University -- from new presidents to quirky undergraduates to sports titles. There are scandals, disappointments and tragedies that are difficult to tackle and require our editors to work tirelessly through the night.

This year will likely be much of the same. It is the end of an era for the Penn administration as University President Judith Rodin leaves after 10 years of remarkable service to the institution. The University will begin to plan its expansion to the east, a series of alterations that will likely forever change Penn's campus -- hopefully for the better.

As a student and a journalist, this upcoming year will no doubt be challenging. As one of the student body's few sources of information about the Penn administration, we will do our best to keep the community abreast of all changes and major decisions.

But part of that process is being connected to our readers and getting the community involved.

If you don't like something we've written, or you disagree with the way that we covered the situation, then tell us about it. Submit letters to the editor, call the newsroom or post your thoughts on our Web site.

And if that isn't enough, or if you have an interest in learning about how newspaper works, come to our introductory meeting on Sept. 9.

You can be a news reporter, a sportswriter, an artist, a photographer, a graphics or web designer or even a music critic.

Or, if you want to learn about how an independent student newspaper pays its bills, then think about working in our advertising, marketing, finance, credit or production departments. The DP is a $1 million per year independent corporation in which all of the major decisions are still made by students.

The DP is also a community that exists far outside the Penn campus. Former DP staffers have gone on to numerous jobs, from writing at The New York Times to crafting speeches for presidents.

But aside from the resume boost, the paper is an amazing place to challenge yourself. You'll find friends, but when publishing a paper is on the agenda every night, your friends become coworkers.

So maybe after you get to know us, you'll realize that we try to do just a little bit more than yapping and yapping and yapping.

Amy Potter is a senior World History major from Albuquerque, N.M. and executive editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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