Writer’s note: This is a satire piece. Please don’t get all worked up.
Given the recent uptick in views and general campus knowledge of New University, there seems to be some confusion about what UCI’s official campus newspaper is.
Luckily, I, one of New University’s Co-Opinion Editors, am here to clear that all up! Notice the word Opinion. Not News, Opinion.
I know people in News. I’m qualified to talk about News. I know things.
News is typically more lame and objective. That’s why it’s called News, and not Opinion! This is a great place to start.
News, as can be seen here, is where a magical thing called reporting happens. Someone from the New University watches something happen, takes notes, perhaps gets an interview from someone onsite and then writes what they observed. Again, key word, observed! They did not write what they thought about the issue, simply what they saw with their own eyes. If they write their own thoughts and opinions about the issue in a news article, that’s what’s called “biased journalism.” That’s a huge no-no!
Opinion isn’t biased journalism, however. We’ll get to that later.
First, please get out of our Instagram comments saying that we aren’t covering a certain issue with our news team! New University’s News is not a section that covers world issues. If a giant clown overtook a city in rural Idaho, even if that is a national spectacle, the New U would have no role in covering that. That’s why we are called a campus newspaper. Hey, you can even see that on our masthead on NewUniversity.org! If you want to see us expand and be able to cover world issues, go ahead and slide us some money via donation at https://newuniversity.org/donate.
Also, please never ask us if we got permission to run a story on a campus event, or if we cleared the story with an organization. What do you think newspapers do? Do you think that the Washington Post asked the Nixon administration if they could leak Watergate to the whole world?
The New U has multiple trainings a year on ethical journalism and what is on/off record. We are aware of the potential legal and ethical ramifications of misreporting. We don’t need a frat bro who’s never stepped foot in a newsroom telling us that we should’ve checked with a group before publishing an article of their widely publicized campus event.
Now that we have clarified News’ role with the New University, let’s move on to Opinion.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word opinion as a “view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.”
The New University (according to me, as of right now) defines the section Opinion as the most important aspect of the entire paper. You too, since you’re reading it right now. No bias included.
But seriously, let’s explore what Opinion writing for the New U actually looks like. Typically, Opinion articles cover a relevant issue at UCI or in broader society, and take a specific stance. As with any serious newspaper, the article must be rooted in verifiable facts. These facts are usually sourced from investigative journalism, which, you guessed it, is News! Alongside these facts must be sound logic to substantiate the points made. Boom, get Opinioned.
Now that you know how to Opinion, we do take submissions from both UCI affiliates and external sources — feel free to submit work here. Just make sure it’s good, bonus points if it’s in AP style.
Again – and I can’t believe I am even having to write this – Opinion is not News! If you want to call Opinion biased, sure, call it that. Just know that any opinion you have in your day-to-day life is biased as well then.
Media literacy is dying, many people can’t read the big blue box at the top left of our Instagram posts that say “OPINION” or “NEWS” or “SPORTS.” In retrospect, that’s not even really media literacy, it’s just literacy. Most of our readership and social media following is UCI students. You all know how to read. Please do it before becoming reactionary and defensive.
After reading this amazing article, surely you want to join this equally amazing team. We are more than just Opinion and News, these two sections are just typically the most ill-perceived by critics.
Anyways, need a summer internship? Check out our application here!
Jacob Ramos is a 2023-24 Opinion Editor. He can be reached at jacobtr@uci.edu.
Edited by Trista Lara and Annabelle Aguirre.