Ask yourself, why are you reading this? Consider that in the time you spend reading my article, you could be watching YouTube, browsing Facebook, or (God forbid) doing homework. I don’t know what caused you to pick this up, flip through to my page, and actually read this particular piece, but with a little bit of luck I might be able to get you to do it again some time.
When we gauge the different sources from which we can get our media, traditional print is usually not at the top of the list. When we can get so much more from TV and the Internet, why would we bother with such antiquated means of communication as paper? I tend to think our preference for electronic media is because our collective attention spans have taken significant dives since the dawn of the information age, but the truth is never that simple. If it were only that people had grown tired of reading, then there would be no blogosphere. Clearly it’s not that nobody wants their media in writing. It’s just that now, they can get it wherever and whenever they want, and with more diversity of choices, something I don’t have the luxury of offering.
So, whether the newspaper goes out like the horse-drawn carriage, or is just fated to be a niche fetish for neo-luddites and hipsters, like vinyl records, my job, and the job of other newspaper writers just like me (who actually get paid) is to get people to read our articles. I may not be an expert, but I do have a plan, and like any good plan, it definitely has three easy steps: Make it interesting, make it educational (but not too much,) and move the impact beyond the page.
To get readers, first, I need make this interesting. I have to convince you that your time is better spent reading this newspaper than watching another cat video. I’d love to write about obscure topics like linguistics every week, and delve into why there are 112 different English spellings of “Gaddhafi” or why no words rhyme with “orange,” but no one cares. However, as I writer, I do get to steer the topic. I have the right to refuse to cater to the lowest common denominator and to not write about Justin Bieber or Kim Kardashian any more than mentioning that I won’t write about them. Though anything could be a potential illustrative example. I have a deeper reference pool than most people; you can dive in and not hit your head.
Beyond topic, this also includes style. I’ll have to warn you that at times I can be loquacious, but I can also be concise; I believe that good writing needs to be both. If something important needs to be said, sometimes, it just needs to be said simply. Other times, I may use longer sentences with complex vocabulary pertinent to the subject at hand. I might use words like “loquacious” and not tell you what they mean. You never know. Above all, writing is about knowing your audience. Pepperdine students are young adults who want down-to-earth lingo, but are smart enough not to be daunted by a few big words.
My next objective is figuring out how to make it educational. My readers should learn something. I write opinions, so it might be wrapped in a personal bias, but as long as there is enough of a takeaway to result in some level of enlightenment, I’ll be happy. Taking in new information is better when you don’t know it’s happening because you’re interested: I call it “stealth learning.” John Stewart is the master at this. You may think he’s just making fun of politicians, but mixed in with the jest are simple explanations of how our government works (or doesn’t).
The third, and probably most important purpose of anything I write is to get a discussion going. Just because I think I’m wittier and smarter than I actually am doesn’t mean that my opinion is worth more than anyone else’s. If I can get the Graphic readers talking about things, I’ve won whether I’ve convinced them of my position or not. The name at the top of the page is “Perspectives,” and I think it’s important that the stories below reflect that, so let me know what you think. Complaints, compliments and requests for autographs are all welcome.
As we start a new run of issues this semester, the rest of the Graphic staff and I sure hope that you continue to read our paper. If you allow us to entertain and inform you, and hopefully, in my case, persuade you, we shall be much obliged. Or, if nothing I’ve written has persuaded you in the least, then we also have a website.
