University of South Carolina Libraries
* f-Guest column? By MARK F. ETIIRIDC.E JR. This is my first venture in the academic world since I graduated a century or so ago, and thus my first ^ real exposure ?o the collegiate press since then. And (he strongest impression I have gotten from reading The Gamecock is how much it is like the wwiviy i newspaper ousiness, where I labored only half a century ago. It was a weekly in a small community in West Virginia, and I was editor, publisher, advertising and circulation -"anager, sometimes printer and frequently chief MU'r'tinnif in - . ?v.ii<ki\ 11 v iiui pi: in i I y l"g l() KP(?p the folder running. % It's an old gag in the weekly business that people read the paper to find out what the editor didn't dare print. In a small, elose-knit community, not as populous as the iicr" x uv/ vniiijma uui HUI IllUCn Digger geographically, almost everybody knew almost everybody else. They knew each other's likes and dislikes, triumphs and defeats, habits and hobbies. AND. OF C'Ol'KSE. everybody knew all 'he dirt and near-dirt, such ? as 'he rumor 'hat the Baptist * preacher had been seen having a 3.2 beer in Charleston last Thursday. So putting out the paper each week was not only an exercise in newspapering ? covering the school lx>ard, 'he town council, the community's one major industry, plus 'he usual obituaries and meetings of Senator gives vi ft Homecoming rej To the Editor: Afro i game Up until now I have refused crowning to give my views on racial Homecoming. However, I find "finger" H necessary 10 respond to a the left a couple of letters written to the even in editor of The Gamecock as well Tococ as the crowning of our a frater Homecoming Queen, Miss f0rtunat< I Abigail Rogers , during half- who m lime. remark Firstly, I believe the author fraterni of Ihe "Queen snub con- ,augh(Kl demned should be com- Hell is C mended for speaking out don't w* against what he thought to be .* . " queen: an injustice lo Miss - _ . Homecoming. It is indeed a f ou dying shame to hear and see X? grown people throw out racial ra/^ . remarks upon the agony of . defeat. Very, very, very damn * ~ good sportsmanship! ...:n Secondly, in response to the IFC president's claims,. Mr. . ' Katon Dawson quoted the ? . nilt hr\r "nnonn pniiV* I II1 ? v/1 01 iuu tuir ,. demned" who said "The rewarni fraternities resorted to booing stupidity and calling the winning can- To rei didate a racial slur." Mr. dissentio Dawson failed to quote by even "Although I cannot accuse all us the i Greeks of such poor behavior it ourselvei is the actions of those Greeks going to at Homecoming that gives between them (fraternities) a bad expressii name." and cont During half-time I was Senator < seated in the block seats that BA Distr bility Ti the Order of the Eastern Star ? but it wnc ;ilcr\ o inot .. .. ..u xmu CI I col HI L I t'UIUllliy. And the editor was forever caught in the middle. On one side were the readers who wanted all the details, verification in cold black and white of all the rumors they had heard in vivid color down at Brown's Drug Store. On the other side were the people about whom (he rumors were circulating, who didn't want the story in the paper. Usually it wasn't all hat bad; a drunk driving charge was about the biggest problem More often 'he story concerned some good citizen's child who had been arrested for vandalism, or resisting arrest, or who had lost his athletic eligibility for flunking four. TIIKRK WFRE ALSO, of course, the people who wanted their particular doines in ?ho nanor txx,^n ;r . - - - ... v jyv* v. I 9 V ? X* ' II Ihey had nothing to do with news. Somebody from the next county was going to speak at the Garden Club next week, or little Joanne had just cut her first tooth and her doting parents 'hought the momentous event deserved at least a twocolumn picture ? free, of course. Some weekly newspapers operate fiat way. I know one which, every week, runs the names of all the people who have renewed their subscriptions since the last issue. This is called telephone book journalism. By the end of a year every subscriber will have gotten his name in the paper at least once. It M*ay be telephone books, but it ipws on t-! A iCi actions icquired for this To the Editor: and upon the of the queen boos, I would like t< remarks and the South Carolina were made behind, to stupid procedu nd to the right of me, lTSC-Clemson ft the south end "zone." 'ye have T ven further, there was disorganized ev nity member I un- Firs, and f ;ly know personally unity" (along ade the following s|a|e/ ..slude* in front of his pickup times as 'V brothers, who the slllden,.s , joyfully, "What he fo|lowed for ev arolina coming to? We int no nigger for our suddenly, I was a tradition and especially to any eve of ticket pic who know you are Well, power to a it is people like you forty degree w< ce fools of yourselves who camped 01 e no distinct morals students who di ics about yourselves give blacks even more However, sev tress more) initiative out with pickup I rmination to go on to 3:30 p.m. I dot kC)*\A?*AiiD nr iifnll op /?n?v?rv ???* 'OJ7UI UUO ?o WC1I ad l I I I VHIl Willi ng lives. Your business, howe^ is our gain. expect, or he all terate, criticism and his assigned tirr n should be accepted ^one. Criticism gives Furthermore, initiative to imnrove started a list u s. But when are we names of th< ?vao riirr<>i<nnpn ensure t hat I hps ICai II l 11V^ UI1IVI v^l ivv giving criticism and periodic roll c rig feelings of hostility throughout the cmpt? ,0?k place. r.arry D. Norrls Therefore, h tot 11 Sont ' *" names were on ilued I isn't journalism. Advertisers wanted freebi* as news stories. The hardwar was going to have a sale 01 cowers, and the hardware either didn't want fo buy an wanted me fo give him a coh news space for every colu advertising he bought. IF A NEWSPAPER gives ii 'hese pressures from peopl want something for nothing peopic wno think I hey are portant that their every a commands public attention from people who want the edited to suit their convenient newspaper isn't going to Is long. It will he boring, nrnHinl oK1/\ *4 Jl?i-?-?* fst v.vii\? i ciuic (11 III UISIIOIIUSI, 3 readers will know it. So 1 bought the champion li the county fair, to appease thi lobby, and threw a dinner at tl restaurant in town ("better" be Miore accurate since then; only two) for my advertiser other community leaders. I explained the facts of nalistic life to them and 'old tl new day was coming. We were to put out an honest newspape was news it was going to he paper. If it wasn't news it \ ffni ?> ft I rx U /> *' '*? i/v 111, uiiit'ss i ney wan run an ad. They wouldn't like it at fi said, hut sooner or later they \ The paper's credibility would heir ads more believable, i people saw good news stories Let pick; ) congratulate the University of on having the most idiotic, re concerning the pick up of >otball tickets. Never in all my been subjected to such a 'ont >remost, I he "Carolina Comvvith several other pamphlets) ts will follow the scheduled ; determined by the last digit of D number." This policy was erv game excluding Clemson. was informed that it for students to Camp out on the kup day for the Clemson game, ny student who can camp out in gather. logically, the students it WOlllH ho in frnnt r?f nil fVi? id not camp out. eral hundred students camped limes ranging from 8:00 a.m. to i't care if an individual does Q 1'lft r?i/->lr l m limn il'o iU/v!? V* i/.wv/ Jyivi* up i IIIIV, II O IIICII /er (his individual should not lowed, to pick up tickets before ic just because he camped out. a person or group of persons hich supposedly contained all e students who camped out. To e students did indeed camp out, hecks were to be executed night. These roll checks never undreds of students whose the list never camped out. In ? ? - aas 1 editor other people, they'd know it was fact es run and not puffery. e store i lawn AM) IT WORKED. Within six I dealer -vonths nobody would have had it ad or any other way. Circulation went up; imn of advertising linage increased, and rrm of 'he paper began to win awards in the state press association. The test came one day when I 1 to all learned 'ha? a prominent e who businessman, well into his 70s. had , from been caught in a raid on a local so im- house of ill-repute, as we used to call ctivity 'hem . Since the noliro tmiH vine n , and public record, 'here was nothing Jo paper do but run 'he story. ^e, the ist for So run it we did. and I braced for trite, 'be consequences which were not tid the i" coming. When I saw him striding up the am at walk, I went out in the little lobby to ? farm face him. le best* would "You know about that story about , were M'? 'n '^c paper ?odav?" he 1 s and demanded. "Yes. sir." I said, as bravely as jour- possible. ^ _ lem a 1 f uuzcn copies, ho said, i going pulling out his billfold, "?o scud to . r. If i( M >' friends." iu? Ill I lie vasn't led lo Mark Ethridge Jr. was editor of the ; rsj | Detroit Free Press from 1967-1973 and , editor and vice president of the Akron iT' Beacon-Journal from 1973-1970. He is now , make a journalism professor at U'SC. ind if about ip panned fact, two friends of mine signed the list with n< intention of camping out. Monday morning when 'heir names were called out, the; received passes into the Russell House to pici up tickets. Finally _r me and several hundred othe students jecanie severely enraged, th linu'orcittf ml nlinl/vAl i-w?. * 4 hxkvionj ituuuiicu i>y Mining irial even it student did have his name on the list, he coul only receive his ticket at his scheduled pickuj time. However, no one (even if they had been i * line since 6:00 Monday morning with scheduled 8:00 pick up lime) would be a( mitted into the Russell House until all 150 names on the list were called out. The callin; out of the names lasted until practically 12:0( Furthermore, since it was nearly 12:00, thstudents who were scheduled for third pickup and had their name on the list were admitted into Russell House. This in effect meant thai students with third pickup were bring admitted before those students who did not camp out but had first pickup! In conclusion, I am shocked that a particular group of persons can change a university policy without letting the entire student body knov However, 1 am warning the person or persons who caused the disorganized chaos that took place at (he Russell House, that if this situation occurs again next year, thousands of students will not put up with this crap in such > quiet, restrained manner as they did this year I hope that university officials, ticket officials and any interested persons will get the drift of my last statement. Sherry Carver F.ngr. Fresh.