As someone who has witnessed multiple letters-to-the-editor printed in The Marquette Tribune criticizing the quality of his reporting, I must say I am typically averse to all forms of public complaint. For the well being of the Trib, however, I will make an exception.

As a former reporter of the Tribune, let me start off by stating the obvious: I emphatically oppose the proposed cuts to the Tribune’s page count. I’m sure I speak for almost all alums of the Trib when I say I learned far more from working a beat on the Tribune than I did from any journalism class while at Marquette.

And that’s not a knock on the journalism department. Marquette’s journalism professors are experienced reporters in their own right, and they are dedicated teachers who diligently instruct their students on how to craft a sentence. However, that bunch would be the first to tell you that the experience of actual reporting is far more beneficial than anything a book can teach you. Reporters become good reporters by reading and writing, followed by additional reading and writing.

That is why it is essential that as many kids get the chance to report for the Tribune as possible. Fewer pages in the Tribune will lead to fewer students getting jobs as reporters at the paper, and fewer student-reporters leads to a weaker journalism program.

The rest of the journalism industry is going through enough layoffs as it is. Must we extend this trend to college kids making thirty bucks a week?

Long live the Trib.

Joe Carey
2012 alumnus, College of Communication