The Chanticleer

Issue date: 3/17/05 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Dave Dillon Dave Dillon is the editorial cartoonist for The Chanticleer.

As the former editor of "The Chanticleer," I understand the basics of running a newspaper, which includes story assignment. The choice to have Amado Ortiz write the article about the IM Basketball Championship was a fine example of why we are taught as journalists to avoid assigning stories to people who will automatically be biased before even picking up the pen.

Amado is not only a Pi Kappa Phi himself, but he played in the game. He made a point to leave out certain pieces of information in the story and take jabs at the opposing fraternity, while strategically leaving out a bit of information that justified what the other fraternity did. You see, Pi Kapp's fundraiser "War of the Roses" awards points to each sorority for winning various competitions the fraternity hosts throughout the week. One of the categories in this competition, dubbed "Attendance," awarded points to sororities who came to the Championship Basketball game and supported the Pi Kapps.

"Coming in, Pi Kappa Phi was subjected to posters mocking their War of the Roses week, (an event that funds their philantropy work)," wrote Amado in the article.

The jab Amado took at the sign Sig Ep had hanging in the coliseum made it sound like Sig Ep was "mocking" Pi Kapp's philantrophic activity, but in fact, the sign was mocking the fact that Pi Kapp was bribing girls to show up and sit on their side of the court.

"The Chanticleer" and its editors should learn from this omission of information and take note of how biased this article really appears to a reader. I hope that you learn from your mistakes now, because the journalism world beyond college would not tolerate such biased material.

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