COLUMN: 'All good news, all the time'

From Mike Madden's, "Opiate of the Masses," Fall '98 From Mike Madden's, "Opiate of the Masses," Fall '98Penn's media world got a bit cozier late last month, with the sudden, seemingly out of nowhere arrival of Pennsylvania Current. But if you were one of the few people who picked up a copy (I found mine sitting in Meyerson Hall on January 12, nearly a full month after the smaller-than-normal first press run made its debut) and flipped through it, you may have glimpsed the real story behind the new addition to the Penn press corps. "This is a special preview issue of Pennsylvania Current, a new publication from the Office of University Relations, designed to supplement existing means of communication on campus," said Ken Wildes, who you may know from the DP as "University spokesperson," but whose formal title is the more august "Director of University Communications." It turns out that Current was born out of the ashes of Compass, which had been around in various incarnations as the central administration's way of sending its messages directly to the rest of the school. For this semester, at least, Current's biweekly issues are being paid for entirely out of what used to be Compass's budget. "The University administration needs to improve the way it communicates" with students, faculty and staff, Wildes said last night. Current will "supplement" the news and information already covered by the DP and by Almanac, the Faculty Senate-supervised journal of record on campus, according to Wildes. It'll be aimed mostly at students and staff, since most professors, it seems, still trust Almanac -- which has been drifting slowly out of the administration's sphere of influence lately (like when it heralded the Sansom Common groundbreaking with a recap of previous plans for the space). The buzzwords for the new venture are "readable, credible, believable," said Wildes, who supervises Current's publication and will work closely with Libby Rosoff, the former Compass editor who jumped over to Current. "We'll try not to do things that would be perceived as spin," Wildes said, "but we'll see how we do." After all, he pointed out, Rosoff and her top staff, University City Review editor John McCalla and Penn P.R. maven Sandy Smith, all bring a solid reporting background to the table. So will Current really be a new, reliable (a -ble word that Wildes didn't specifically tick off as a Current attribute) source of news for Penn students and staff? Or will it be a University mouthpiece that only puts out the party line? Well, as interesting as it might be if the DP faced regular competition, the first two issues didn't look promising. Aside from misspelling the name of the firm that Penn hired in October to run all its building management (note to Current staff: two L's in Trammell Crow), the "Job Front" story managed to stretch the length of the whole page without even mentioning the widespread dissent over the outsourcing move. Executive Vice President John Fry's quote sounds straight out of a press release: "Clearly, Trammell Crow recognizes the tremendous talent we have here." The lead story in the inaugural issue, about early decision applications, absolutely glows about the 17.1 percent jump in early applicants to Penn -- without noting anywhere that last year, a harrowing crime wave sent applications plummeting. In reality, Penn received only 94 applications more this fall than it did in 1996, a meager 4 percent rise over two years. Wildes, meanwhile, says that omission was "not a conscious decision." Last Friday's issue didn't put Current any closer to winning a Pulitzer for its investigative reporting. A story about the Penn Book Center finding a new home at 39th and Walnut streets didn't quote the store's owners. Tom Lussenhop, who negotiates real estate deals for Penn, talked a lot about the University's commitment to "cosmopolitan, university-oriented" retail near campus. But reading the article wouldn't give you any inkling that many of the owners of stores near the Book Center -- other campus stalwarts like University Jewelers and Classical Choice -- are furious with the University over the way they'll be booted to make way for a new Wharton behemoth. Other stories inside include hype about University President Judith Rodin's trip to D.C. to lobby President Clinton and a tiny, tiny item on the new interim provost, Michael Wachter -- who could end up with the job for good. In fact, it seems Current will follow orders so well that Rosoff, its editor, didn't even feel comfortable talking to me about the new paper. She referred me to Wildes instead, after putting me on hold for three or four minutes to think about it. There's nothing wrong, on principle, with the administration choosing to put out its own spin on the news. Current could have emphasized its mission a little clearer, though, and I hope no one ends up taking its "What, Penn worry?" attitude without a grain or two of salt. Actually, Current's arrival means, most of all, that the DP needs to step up and make sure it really probes deeply into every facet of life at the University. Right now, the DP sometimes lets vital perspectives on campus events go unmentioned in its pages, or pays too little attention to the administration's opponents. But with a new, "all good news, all the time" competitor, the DP will head into its 114th year of publication with no choice but to look at everything with renewed scrutiny. When a small -- but important -- group of staffers brings a legitimate gripe about University business, don't count on Current to make sure it stays on the forefront of campus discussion. When West Philadelphia residents protest plans for development near their homes -- or street vending, or whatever the issue happens to be -- don't look for the flip side to Penn hegemony in Current. Instead, call up the DP and let its new editors know that when they formally take office in two weeks, they'll need to be more vigilant than ever when they look at the University and its actions. On the whole, Penn's a wonderful university and a great community to belong to. But we all know it's not perfect yet. Let's hope Current doesn't make us forget that.