The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 20, 1977, Page Page 17, Image 17
* 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.