Since our class has been discussing editing, I have been noticing spelling and grammatical errors ever more than before. However, editors also must make other decisions based on structure and content. With the journalism world seemingly expanding towards the internet and beyond, the etiquette of proper journalism is getting fuzzier.
In an article written in the Red and Black, the writer discusses the difficulties finding a job after college. He goes on to make a joke using the popular catch phrase “That’s what she said”, made popular on the show “The Office”. Although the professionalism of Michael Scott may make this seem OK in a business office, is this appropriate for a newspaper?
First, we can look at the audience of the newspaper. It is a college newspaper which is geared toward the 18-23 year old student. I am sure there are very few audience members who had not heard of “That’s what she said".
Thus the popular joke, although containing a vulgar sexual undertone, has become part of pop-culture among college-age students. With its place in the common vernacular, does it belong in a professionally established newspaper?
I cannot imagine a statement like that in the AJC, much less the New York Times.
Secondly, it is the job of the editor to maintain the level of professionalism of the paper, whether a college newspaper or a national staple.
In the Rochester City Newspaper website, the write-in section is lead with the phrase "Got something to say? Sad? Angry? Happy? Whatever your mood, it always feels good to get if off your chest. (That's what she said?)" This paper is not a collegiate paper and caters to the city of Rochester, NY. Is this appropriate?
If there is any doubt that the statement would cause controversy in a negative way or decrease the reputation of the paper, then it should be cut. The image of the paper should be higher than a lame joke. No matter what the paper, it should strive for excellence.
In this particular article, the story could have been told without the joke. It was not presented in flow with the rest of the article and seems forced. So if you want to push the envelope with crass jokes, at least make sure it is funny.
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I agree that the joke was forced and unnecessary. Unfortunately, the whole article is riddled with bad jokes. I could excuse that if the article was informative at all, and it's not. The research behind this article--going to the career center to ask a few questions and looking up statistics online--is very shallow. It seems to me that Vince (he informs me in the article we're on a first name basis) uses the bad jokes to distract from the nothingness he is saying. I cannot imagine this column helped anyone.
ReplyDeleteWow. Harsh critics here. That's good. Brittany, I think you're right on about the use of The Office quote. Writers often assume that their readers are coming from a similar knowledge base. It's OK to assume that for some references (such as a reference to 'American Idol'), but writers need to be careful in their assumptions. Although a popular show, The Office doesn't even crack the "Top 20" in ratings. I would assume most readers don't watch the show, and that joke fell flat on most people.
ReplyDeleteI do need another link in your post. Perhaps an column where humor was used effectively? Please repost.
I agree that the joke was misused; however, I think it does have an audience in a newspaber like the R&B. The Office may not crack the Top 20 ratings, but I think more than just viewers of The Office know the joke because people spread that phrase around like peanut butter. I think that as a college paper the R&B can use humor and pop culture references, but this was a bad call...which is what an editor should have said.
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