REPORTER NEEDS TO DIG DEEPER AND TO AVOID SENSATIONALISM

To the Editor:

Like any paper, I'm sure Spectator is always on the lookout for a scoop.
This kind of hot story can be found either through investigative
journalism, which can be a daunting though rewarding process, or the paper
can simply dish out the latest gossip. The latter is often referred to as
sensationalism, which is exactly what Spectator is practicing when it
prints the name of an arrested Columbia student on the front page,
implicating him in a crime he has yet to be tried for ("CC Senior Arrested
for Marijuana Possession," Sept. 4, 2003).

In America, one is innocent until proven guilty. If you want a scoop, try
figuring out how the cops got a warrant to search a student's room.
Answering that question will take a lot of hard work, but the pursuit of
truth is its own reward.

Daniel Blau, CC '06,

Sept. 4, 2003