Campus journalism not a one-way street

It's been a hell of a year.

You know that saying, "time flies when you're having fun"? Well, it flies even faster when you're working hard for a cause that you truly believe in.

I really don't mean to toot my own horn here. I just wish that I, the outgoing executive editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian, had held my head up a little higher and taken a look around more often, instead of just keeping my nose to the grindstone. And as my term ends, I predict that we can all look forward to good things to come.

Now that the DP has elected a new board of editors and managers, I'm finally starting to realize just how much influence I had this past year. Rest assured, I took my job very seriously and wielded that influence very carefully. It just had never occurred to me how much positive change I could have made. All this time I was always focused on what made good journalism -- what was fair and accurate and balanced and objective. I focused on what the DP was supposed to do in its role as a news organization, rather than what I wanted it to do -- or more importantly, what our readers wanted it to do.

Together, my fellow editors, managers and staff and I worked very hard to provide our readers with clear, honest and objective news coverage and a forum for the free expression of ideas and issues, regardless of their viewpoint. I declare that we have succeeded in that goal.

But clearly, there is much work left to be done. And we need your help.

Just over a year ago, my predecessor asked the Penn community for its patience as the DP underwent a transition of power. Now, I ask you not only for patience but also for an increasingly active engagement with your daily campus newspaper. After all, there is no better way to interact with the whole university community than through one of its loudest voices.

Journalism is not a one-way street. Of course, any newspaper will maintain the editors' role of determing what is newsworthy and how to present the news in a way that best serves the reader. Nevertheless, this role is unfulfilled unless we seek readers' opinions and factor them into our decisions.

As such, we have conducted and will continue to conduct focus groups, surveys and open forums in order to solicit readers' input. I owe a big thank-you to those students who have assisted us with these objectives and those who have participated in the discussions. I also have much gratitude to those students, faculty and other members of the Penn community who have taken it upon themselves to bring ideas, suggestions and, yes, even criticism to our attention.

But it doesn't stop there. In addition to the DP's continuing and expanding efforts to reach out to readers, I hope that you will reach out and let my successor know whenever you have questions or suggestions.

With that said, it is my pleasure to announce my successor: College junior and outgoing Senior Sports Editor David Burrick.

With these past few issues of the DP, Burrick and the 121st Board of Editors and Managers have smoothly begun their reign. I have the utmost confidence that they will pick up where the 120th Board and I have left off. I honestly expect them to make several significant improvements in even just the first few weeks of their term, which officially begins in January.

I have worked hard to make the DP more sensitive to the concerns of the Penn community. Based on the positive feedback that I have received, I have reason to believe these efforts have been largely successful. Of course, there is much left to be done, particularly regarding our relationships with community organizations. And the new board is well aware of these objectives.

I hope you all will be willing to work with the DP's new management. I have the utmost confidence in the new board and its ability to earn your respect.

And from the bottom of my heart, it has been a pleasure to serve you.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.