The Daily O’Collegian

The first time I walked into The Daily O’Collegian newsroom, my heart was pounding.

I was an 18-year-old farm kid from southeast Oklahoma who wasn’t quite sure what journalists did.

Typing honor rolls and organizing the conference room for my local newspaper was the extent of my journalism experience.

Luckily, at the O’Colly, everyone gets chance, and three years later, I’m still here.

During that time, I’ve mainly served as a reporter.

I’ve interviewed at least 100 people. From those conversations, I’ve heard a few misconceptions about the O’Colly, and it’s time we clear some of that up from the get-go.

First, the reporters don’t write their headlines. I can’t count the number of times I wrote a story and had a source call me the next day, angry about the headline.

The reporters turn in their stories at 4 p.m. and move on to their next deadline.

Meanwhile, copy editors work late hours, reading the stories and coming up with headlines as they go.

Honestly, headlines are sometimes thought of at the last minute and are limited because of space.

Secondly, we can’t cover everything on campus. I’ve heard many conspiracy theories about how the O’Colly staff has a list of certain groups we just don’t cover.

Untrue.

If your organization’s event doesn’t get covered, it could be for a number of reasons.

For one, we might have missed hearing about it. Even though we read bulletin boards and keep our ears and eyes open, we sometimes miss things.

It’s vital that you tell us, whether it be through e-mailing us (preferably at least a week in advance), calling us or physically coming to the newsroom and talking with us.

And that holds true for not only story ideas but also any time you would like to talk with me. My e-mail is listed in the newspaper along with my phone number.

Also, I basically live in the newsroom, so if you would rather talk in person, feel free to venture down to Paul Miller 108.

I want to hear from you, regardless of whether it’s positive, negative or a mixture of both. I feel as journalists we should always be open to constructive criticism and never feel completely satisfied with our work.

Lastly, any drama you remember from last year is over. I’m being vague for a reason. If you don’t remember anything, then by all means, go on your merry way reading the O’Colly.

If you do remember it, know that we’re in search of an adviser and general business manager. And the O’Colly print publication and the Web site are friends again.

This semester, we have a talented group with a lot of potential.

I’m excited to see what they’ll come up with, and I think you should be pumped as well.

I’m also glad that the O’Colly has given someone who had more experience raking hay than writing news stories the opportunity to serve as editor-in-chief.