Filling The Crimson

Have you ever picked up The Crimson, looked at an article or a picture and wondered why on earth it was in the paper? Take, for example, the random picture of a protest in Vancouver that was in last week's newspaper. Or Monday's shot of Whoopi Goldberg waving her hand. One reader referred to these types of pictures as "filler." I think that "filler" is a very good description.

Editors often resort to "filler" to fill the page--literally. Even with the new layout, a longer paper and more advertisements in the fall season means that "filler" is often necessary to preserve the continuity of the page. Classic "filler" usually takes the form of messages from The Crimson. Boxes that say "Your Ad Here," or "Got a hot news tip?" are blatant filler. Reuters news photos are a welcome alternative to this, but should still be used as little as possible. However, rather than analyze the intent of Crimson editors in page layout, I'd like to extend the definition to include any news or photo that seems to be placed for visual interest and not much else.

Armed with this new definition, it seems to me that there has been more "filler" in The Crimson this year than years past. Though a limited number of such articles or photos can provoke interest, too many can threaten the cohesiveness of the newspaper. I am generally talking about the kind of photo or article that seems not to warrant inclusion in the paper, such as national news that is neither significant nor interesting, or piecemeal entertainment news from faraway cities. I am not, however, referring to campus photos as filler.

The new layout has been visually interesting, and there have indeed been some great photos. Both news photography and "campus candids" have undergone big improvements over the last year. (Perhaps I'm biased, since The Crimson published an interesting shot of my lab section.) The photo of President Neil L. Rudenstine as he "enjoys a moment of quiet" before Tuesday's Faculty meeting was a classic. Head of the Charles photography made use of different angles to shoot the crowd and rowers.

Also, unaccompanied off-campus photos are not necessarily filler. Some news stories can be presented better through a photo than an article. News pictures can be a wonderful way to combat the phenomenon of campus-induced isolation. More people will check out an interesting picture on the Real World page, for example, than will read all the articles. According to Crimson President Joshua J. Schanker '98, The Crimson has made a special effort, in response to reader input, to include more national news, photos and Associated Press stories.

There's a fine line between such worthwhile news photos and so-called "filler," but I believe that the line does exist. Using Monday's paper as an example, I'd classify the photo of the U.S. aircraft landing on a carrier in the Persian Gulf from the Real World page as worthwhile news. Harvard students should know about urgent movements of U.S. troops. On the other hand, the quarter-page photo on page A-6 of that same paper of a Paris fashion show featuring spring 1998 styles was unquestionably filler.

I agree that some filler is probably inevitable, and a limited amount may even be desirable. However, I caution Crimson editors to select wire stories and photos with the same editorial judgment and care as other stories which appear in the paper. To readers, I ask your feedback in determining whether you feel The Crimson is selecting the most relevant national news to include in a limited space. I also invite readers, as always, to continue to contact me with comments, concerns and suggestions about The Crimson's coverage.

Noelle Eckley, who is not a Crimson editor, is The Crimson's Reader Representative. She can be reached at eckley@fas.