Hello all, normally while I would use this space to tell you about how kick-ass this week’s issue is, in this edition I would like to break down the fourth wall and take you inside the world of college newspapers.

First off, as you may or may not have noticed, this school has no journalism program. What this means is that none of us over here at the Mass Media have any formal training and, like students in every other student organization on campus, are more or less exuberant amateurs. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe and I hate to ruin the image of Mass Media staffers as monolithic paragons of journalistic virtue, but from time to time we are prone to mistakes. I look at this as a good thing and so should you; if we were all perfect than we’d probably be being worshipped by a long lost society in the Amazon basin somewhere and not writing the articles that you know and love. This is a university after all, and each mistake (or “teaching point”, as I like to call them) is a valuable opportunity to help us learn to be better at what we do. However, if you do catch a mistake and feel it to be so egregious as to be in need of public acknowledgement, please email what needs to be changed to [email protected]. We unfortunately cannot provide a prize, but if you are a constant and consistent contributor, we may send you an application to be copy editor, although you will most likely have to fight current copy wizard Chris Bailey to the death for the position.

On another note in the same area, we over here at the Mass Media absolutely love hearing from readers. It lets us know that you care and just in general brightens up our day. We would however like to make it clear, as this seems to have been somehow miscommunicated, that you are welcome to give feedback at times other than when we make a mistake (teaching point). As much as we love hearing how wrong we are in the event of a screw-up (teaching point), we also like to know when you like something or think something is funny, or well written, or made you smile. If you are concerned with the quality of the newspaper, which one must assume is the only motive for taking time out to send a letter of correction, then you can further help us by telling us what you like so that we can provide more of it. Not to say that we don’t want to hear from you when things go awry, but we strongly believe that anyone who accepts the challenge of engaging in the art of critique must be willing to play it both ways.