In Regard to Ranch

  The news is a fickle thing.

  Recently, it appears my colleagues have decided that the quality of fast food condiments are of vital importance.

  Evidently we have moved from the Trojan Tribune to an extension of internet blogs and shallow, partisan news.

  Speaking of partisan news, the recently released ranch article clearly has an agenda. I know the authors of the articles. I thought they were left-leaning socialist cretins, but evidently they have hidden sympathies.

  This article is an advertisement in 700 words. Not that they told you that.

  The definition of sponsored is “provide funds for (a project or activity or the person carrying it out).” I have confirmation from Emily that they got the ranch for free.

  Essentially, we have an article with hidden sponsors endorsing certain fast food companies. It’s an advertisement with an agenda. It’s a corporatist conspiracy.

  The Federal Trade Commission calls it a crime to hide a sponsor. As a seeker of truth, it’s my job to expose those who commit a felony.

  Either way, the point is that ranch is not news. In the time span of the ranch story, Donald Trump’s taxes have been released, the Brazil Elections have been finished, and they’re rounding up homosexuals in Tanzania and arresting them.

  But, ranch has the center stage. Go to PVHSNews.com and the featured story is fast food.

  I understand that this is a high school paper, but there’s a standard we should have, and I can’t help but feel that ranch does not meet it.

  This was for a grade, even. This article contributed to a GPA.

  I feel like we need a step back.

  Is the news what people care about, or what people need to know? Is it a balance? The students of this Journalism class have sought that for 4 years.

  The peak of this is not ranch. There have been other facetious articles, other titles that belong to companies like Vox or Buzzfeed. This is not the first, and it won’t be the last.

  This is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  We can’t control journalism. The class is a bastion of free speech. Some articles may be censored, denied. They have been, recently.

  It’s a silent issue. Articles have been pumping out no matter what. They may be slow, but articles always come out. In October, they’re spooky. In December, they’re going to be Christmas themed.

  This is why it’s ridiculous. If we constantly lower ourselves to shallow articles, how can articles about a shooting in Dallas or bureaucracy in Michigan be taken seriously?

  The answer is, they can’t. Most newspapers maintain a level of quality and depth that they rarely deviate from. The Trojan Tribune is all over the place.

  Pahrump introspectives, sport scores, Sabrina’s rants, they all make the front page their home.

  Perhaps that is the nature of amateur news. Perhaps our site is doomed to be a collage of random articles.

  I think we can be okay with that.