Stories...Barrett

Kristin Barrett

Oak Park-River Forest HS - Ill.
First Place - Opinion Writing Contest
July 15 - 19, 2001

Minority viewpoints important

Today's Americans are taught to be open-minded, politically correct, and unprejudiced. As Indiana University's Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Support Frank Motley told students July 17 at the High School Journalism Institute, "We have to think about the future and need to be more welcoming."

He explained that the media need to appeal to the entire country: people of every race, both sexes, those of different socio-economic statuses, readers of religious backgrounds, and other diverse groups. In this nation, media appeal must be to the minority, which can be added up to create the majority.

Newspapers aim to entertain and educate their readers. In particular, reporters keep readers up to date on current events and stories of human interest, although many of their readers might not be directly affected by the news.

"Are you adding knowledge unless you tell people what they don't know or what they didn't think they wanted to know?" Motley suggested.

The answer is more complicated than "no." Newspapers need to cover the information that people want to know: the basic who, what, where and when. In this age of information, a story is great instead of good through thoroughly covering how and why. Not unexpectedly, newspapers will lose readership if they do not excite their readers through surprising information.

This surprising information is the deeper knowledge any good journalist slips into a story, knowledge that is absorbed by the majority and of high interest to the minority. Surprises come out through stories on unconventional subjects, subjects that are taboo or those subjects that need to be approached through a fresh angle.

Within news writing, and especially feature writing, newspapers must reach out and appeal to the minority. Through this service, papers may attract new readers or force other readers to gain knowledge that they did not intend to gain. The gains of readership through attracting minority will add up to attracting the majority.

At the heart of readership, Motley concluded, "We need to include more people.... We'll make a better paper. We'll make a better country."