Letter from the Editor

This may seem an odd way to begin an introduction to the 136th Managing Board of The Daily Princetonian. But the fiasco speaks to both the challenges and opportunities for journalism — particularly collegiate journalism — today, especially regarding the allure of instant publication online.

In the coming weeks and months, the ‘Prince’ you pick up and view online will begin to look different. There will be higher quality, investigative articles, and consistent Facebook, Twitter and blog updates. There will be more charts and graphics in print and more videos online. Over the coming months, we will be rolling out a brand new website.

These changes, however, are just a reflection of longer-term, institutional reforms at the ‘Prince’ that this board has made a priority. Among our efforts, we will increase mentorship opportunities and connections with ‘Prince’ alumni, in addition to creating a social committee and piloting new systems for unprecedented coordination among sections to tell stories in the best way.

These changes center around my overarching goal for this newspaper: to be not just a newspaper, but a full-fledged news organization. And that requires us to go back to basics. Our job is to cover — and uncover — the most important stories of the day. To give you, our readers, not only what you want to read, but what you need to read. And to tell those stories in the most compelling ways, either with the printed word or interactive graphic or video.

In addition to reassessing what we cover, we must also analyze how we cover it. Not only will we be presenting the best journalism on this campus, but journalism that is held to the highest level of integrity. Nothing is more important to a news organization than its reputation. A reputation is difficult to build and easy to destroy, and we will work to build our reputation over the next year.

This brings me back to Onward State and Twitter. Onward State has been sharply criticized by news think tanks for failing the most basic of journalistic tenets: telling the truth.

Meanwhile, The Daily Collegian did not fall victim to the belief that Twitter always equals truth. The Daily Collegian understood that the power of instant publishing, whether on Twitter, Facebook or the web, does not preclude proper fact checking and ethical considerations. The same is true at the ‘Prince.’ Nothing, even on a college campus, can replace the discipline and rigorous pursuit of the truth that is embodied in a 136-year-old news organization like the ‘Prince.’

As we begin a comprehensive shift toward moving content online, we will always understand that the web, and social media, are only means to an end. The end, of course, is great journalism.

That is my commitment to our readers. This year, we will be piloting a number of new ways to present the Princeton story, and I look forward to your feedback. But as we enter an exciting new time for the ‘Prince,’ we will not forget a guiding principle of journalism — that trust and reputation are earned.

Henry Rome, a politics major from Strafford, Pa., is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian. He can be reached at hrome@princeton.edu.