Agree with us or not, it’s our job

The reviews that you read in The Pitt News are written by students who, like most of our… The reviews that you read in The Pitt News are written by students who, like most of our readership, attend classes at Pitt, while having a role in a number of other student activities on campus. Working for the A’E section of this paper requires our writers to devote a lot of their time to their articles.

That being said, it is our job and unique opportunity to be able to express our opinions on all things entertainment. Critics get to express their views on the things that Hollywood is making money on. No matter how small or unrecognizable of a critic, the people who get A’E jobs are, in fact, critics. And as the reader, you are allowed to disagree with what a writer has said in The Pitt News and any other media outlet you might get your readerly hands on.

This, of course, is our boundary: You are the reader, we the critics. You can hate what we say or love what we say — it’s still our job to express an opinion. And I know I don’t always like the opinions of others, but I open my eyes and ears and listen to what that opinion might be, even if I disagree with it.

All of the editors before me have spoken out and defended their writers. This is nothing new. But, it seems that, every year, at least one of our writers is called a moron who doesn’t know what he is talking about, and it’s not always said politely.

Have your opinions on our opinions; you are entitled to. But remember that these writers are college students, and what they do isn’t as easy as you think.

The writers of my staff are putting their names out there with expressed views that some or all of the readers might downright hate and disagree with. But you know what? That’s what they’re hired to do.

We have the incredible privilege of listening to an album, watching a film, reading a book, attending an art gallery, eating at a restaurant, playing a video game and the best part of this job, talking to famous people, and later, we get to write stories that we get paid (not much) for. A lot of work goes into these stories, regardless of how long or short they may seem.

With this privilege comes the responsibility of being fair. I support local music; anyone who knows me personally knows that I do. Recently we have been slightly harsh on a few local bands and their music. Just because I support local music, I can’t influence what my writers think about any band’s album. I also can’t influence outcomes of local rock contests, although many people think otherwise. (They’re all mistaken.) If something is bad, we are going to tell you about it; if something is good, we’ll let you know as well.

This is a thankless job for many of the writers in our section and for many writers in other publications. We are writing for our readers, but, at the same time, our readers are allowed to disagree totally with what we say. I have been writing for this section for four years now, and having done this as long as I have, I can tell you that nothing is going to change. We are going to tell you what we think about music, film, video games, etc. and the readers will agree to disagree.

Finally, I would like to extend a thank-you to all of my staff writers for their hard work and thanks to the readers of The Pitt News who have felt so strongly about what they have read that they have posted feedback online and sent e-mails. Please continue reading, and please continue to let us know how we are doing.

If you think that this job is easy and that anyone can do it, prove it. My staff has been hired, but if someone can give me an application that simply floors me, then I can’t stop them from writing. So give it a shot; astound me with your excellent writing and your fresh and original views on entertainment, and I will give you a job.

Brian Palmer is the A’E editor and appreciates the amount of feedback that the readers of The Pitt News have been giving to him and his staff. Give him more at bkp8@pitt.edu.