In the last two weeks, I’ve been called one of the best student journalists UF has ever had by a coach and told I have no idea what I’m doing by a member of UF’s media relations department.
The truth likely lies somewhere in between, but the lesson is apparent: the judgment of my work changes vastly based on the perspective of the evaluator.
Two people can read the same column or news story and come away with two very different opinions.
I do hope, though, that all of my readers can agree that everything I write is done without bias.
The Alligator is an independent newspaper, meaning we cover UF athletics from an objective point of view.
Yet, perhaps the most recurring feedback I receive on critical columns is: “Aren’t you a Gator? Our student newspaper should support our teams. How does this help the Gators win?”
Quite simply, whether or not something I write “helps the Gators win” never even crosses my mind when I sit down to write a column.
Fellow Alligator columnist Mike McCall named his column “McCallin’ it Like I see it.”
A little cutesy sure, but it’s a reminder that all of our columnists are here do to exactly that — call it like we see it.
We’re blessed enough to cover an athletics program that is extremely competitive in nearly every single sport on campus, so the majority of our coverage reflects the fact that UF boasts one of the finest — if not the finest — athletic programs in the country.
But, obviously, there are times when I feel it necessary to comment on a topic that may not make the most die-hard Gators fans very happy with me.
It’s nothing different than what columnists at other media outlets might write, but because I work for the student newspaper there are expectations for me to support the Gators no matter what.
Last week, I wrote a column examining how the UF basketball team reached the point where a player with Dan Werner’s production could play 29 minutes a game.
It wasn’t a personal attack, it was based on statistics and observation.
I felt it was a fair storyline to examine due to the fact that Werner is averaging five points, four rebounds and two assists while shooting 33 percent from the field.
Some wanted to know why I would set out to embarrass Werner with such harsh words.
I can assure everyone that my intent is never to embarrass an athlete.
By all accounts, Werner is an extremely nice and respectful person who works as hard as he can and does everything the coaches ask of him.
At the same time, I can assure everyone that my intent is never to protect an athlete from embarrassment just for the sake of keeping people happy with me.
If Werner, or anyone else, was upset with me for such biting criticism of his play, I can live with that because I only wrote what I believed to be the truth from my perspective, without bias.
But if everyone was happy with me only because I chose to withhold critical opinions in an attempt to be more well-liked, I couldn’t live with that.
