OPINION: Help us make CM Life the best possible news organization it can be
Following a semester abroad in Moscow and a summer internship in Ann Arbor, I can finally say it's good to be back in Mount Pleasant.
It's good to be back home.
My name is Jordyn Hermani, the Editor-in-Chief for Central Michigan Life this semester. I've spent the last three years working for the paper first as a reporter, then as a news editor and part-time podcaster.
I care deeply about both this media company and how our readers view us.
By sticking with the paper for so long, I've been able to hear some of the common criticisms we've received over the years: we're too biased toward left-leaning opinions, we don't cover the city well enough, we have issues with inaccuracy and so on.
I want you to know we read each comment and email sent to us, every Twitter reply and Facebook message. We read them and then use this criticism to try and find a way to either address an issue within coverage, or be mindful of the next time we cover something in a similar vein.
We don't want to be a paper you look at and mistrust. We want to be your student voice, and that means all students.
However, it's hard to represent viewpoints and opinions that don't find their way to us.
If you feel we are too left-leaning, then come write for us either with an opinion column or a letter to the editor, that shows us your point of view. If you feel we are not covering a topic close enough, then send us an email with a link to something you believe deserves a spot online or in the paper.
We understand it is not possible to cater to every wish and whim of each reader who peruses our print product or visits cm-life.com. Yet we can try our hardest to open our ears and acknowledge these criticisms, and through that build a better paper.
Meet us half way. You reach out to us, and we'll reach out to you: opinion@cm-life.com, news@cm-life.com and editor@cm-life.com are all here to benefit students, faculty, staff and community members of the greater Mount Pleasant area.
We don't want you to think of Central Michigan Life as a faceless entity that appears in the community on Mondays and Thursdays, barring holiday weekends. We want you to think of us as a resource for your university updates; as your fellow students who are just as curious about the campus and community as you are; but most importantly as a reliable source for what's going on around you.
As we said in our last editorial, it's easy to become unplugged and apathetic. We hope to alleviate that issue around Central Michigan University.
So please, help us do that.
