The Varsity, as a rule, doesn’t shy away from controversial subjects. We’ve been known to print provocative editorials that argue unpopular positions. You wouldn’t expect that we necessarily agree with all of them—how could we, considering the range of opinion expressed? Take for example last week’s side-byside pro- and anti-abortion columns, each written by a U of T student activist (see “Faceoff,” Feb. 4).
The same applies to the other sections of this and any good newspaper: While it’s true that nobody in the real world is perfectly unbiased, it’s not that hard to be impartial and give everyone a fair say. For our part, we don’t pick and choose articles. What appears in these pages isn’t there because of our personal beliefs or agendas, but for its relevance to the U of T community members who read this paper. Our job is only to watch events that affect U of T’s three campuses and report them directly, fairly, and as comprehensively as 16 or so pages will allow. That, and, unless we’re writing a commentary, to keep our opinions to ourselves.
We do that to ensure we stay a reliable source of open-minded reporting on any subject. That, in turn, gives us the freedom to report on anything of interest that happens on campus, without overstepping our boundaries or, hopefully, falling short of your expectations.
Recently, we’ve had a number of complaints about some advertisements printed in our issues. Most of these complaints assume that, by publishing the ad, The Varsity as a whole was endorsing its contents.
Before this boils over into questions of journalistic integrity, let me clear up a misconception: The Varsity’s ads don’t reflect our editors’ opinions. As editors, we don’t choose them, and, in fact, don’t even see them until they are on the page.
The majority of ads in The Varsity and most other university papers are sold by an independent marketing firm, and the rest are handled by two busy administrative staff. Ads pay most of the bills and we’re happy to have them. That doesn’t mean we tailor our coverage accordingly. What we print might affect advertisers’ decisions to take out ads with us, but their decisions don’t affect what we print.
The Varsity’s reporting ranges across the spectrum of political involvement on campus, from anti-tobacco protests to the pros and cons of globalization, high and low moments in student politics, campus clashes on everything from Middle-Eastern politics and Burmese democracy to fast food and sex ed, not to mention the commendable and questionable actions of this university.
Do we contradict ourselves if The Varsity prints, say, an ad for the Canadian army in the same issue as an anti-war editorial? No. Neither does running a McDonald’s ad mean we all like Big Macs (they’re only okay). Are we constrained to publish only the story an advertiser might prefer? Never.
So, with that in mind, please enjoy the rest of this independent newspaper, striving to keep you in touch with the goings on at U of T. After a word from our sponsors of course.
