Editor on into Infinity

Former Cardinal associate editor Allen Swerdlowe returned to the UW-Madison campus last spring determined to get one Cardinal photograph: of a photograph, of a photograph, of a photograph, and so on, and so forth.

In 1969, the Cardinal ran a photograph of Swerdlowe standing in front of a newly constructed Lake Street McDonalds, holding up an edition of The Daily Cardinal turned to a page featuring a photograph of him standing in front of the Lake Street McDonalds, holding up an edition of The Daily Cardinal, and on and on into infinity.

More than 30 years later, Swerdlowe, now a successful architect, DCAA board member and one of the 110-year-old paper's 110 most notable alumni, stood in front of the same McDonalds, holding up the same newspaper. The original photograph was taken by Pryor Dodge, who coincidently lives on the same block in New York's SoHo district where Swerdlowe has his office. They remain lifelong friends.

'A difficult, but meaningful, era'

I write in response to your "Well, What Happened?" summary printed in the summer issue of the DCAA newsletter. While the summary is, to my knowledge, generally correct, I take issue with some of its characterizations.

I was heavily involved with the Cardinal from 1990 to 1993, including a year as managing editor (1992-93). As the article states, this was, indeed, a time of "high turnover and rapid de-politicization." It was an extremely trying time to be in a responsible position at the Cardinal, both because of the political battles that wracked the staff and because our serious, long-running financial woes were starting to come to light.

As the article states, those political battles did include an attempted "purge," which was an ill-advised and destructive attempt to re-create the Cardinal of the '60s and '70s. I opposed it at the time. However, I must say that it was not merely a "few 'hard left' editors" who attempted the putsch -- rather, it had significant support among the staff, though several editors did lead the effort.

It is also a vast overstatement and factually erroneous to say that "[i]n the politically correct era, white male writers were deemed unsuitable for editorships, or writing assignments for which they were not, by virtue of gender, race or other circumstance, innately sympathetic. These writers soon left." My election to the second-in-command post belies this, and I worked with many white male editors during the so-called "politically correct era."

Further, it was indeed Cardinal policy -- and, I still think, an excellent one -- to attempt to have people with backgrounds that harmonized with a particular issue write stories on that issue. However, as a writer, I covered many issues for which I was not, "by virtue of gender, race, or other circumstance, innately sympathetic." The policy was never designed to be exclusive, rather inclusive. It was perhaps abused by some editors in their zeal for "purity" in this regard; however, in its best incarnation, this policy gave otherwise marginalized voices a chance to speak for themselves and exposed the Cardinal staff and readership to perspectives almost completely lacking in mainstream media. The "What Happened?" article takes a narrow and erroneous view of the early '90s Cardinal's efforts to be something other than a typical college newspaper.

Having stuck it out through these hard times, I applaud the continued existence of the Cardinal and appreciate the hard work that goes into it. I am also excited about the DCAA and am thankful for the efforts of its leadership. Thank you for allowing me to present a more balanced picture of a difficult, but meaningful, era.

Miriam Ottenberg Memorial Newsroom fund reaches $10,000

The Daily Cardinal's Miriam Ottenberg Memorial Newsroom Fund has reached $10,000 as alumni have pledged their support toward a goal of $60,000.

In July, The Daily Cardinal Alumni Association launched the first of its fundraising efforts, and its first major target is to revamp the newsroom to make the Cardinal's mission of teaching newsgathering easier.

We are honored to be able to make this effort in Miriam Ottenberg's name, and hope to raise a total of $60,000 for the Miriam Ottenberg Memorial Newsroom Fund.

Miriam Ottenberg represented the best of what the Cardinal has always prided itself: a sense of justice, a dedication to excellence, and a fearlessness that seemed to take the word "no" as a dare.

Ottenberg graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and began her distinguished career in 1937 as the first female news reporter for The Evening Star in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Alumni have pledged $10,000 so far to meet needs such as computers and photography equipment to replace old and substandard machinery, as well as adequate office furniture and a new telephone system. Our goal of $60,000 is in sight but cannot be reached without alumni support.

For information on how to donate, please watch your mailbox for further appeals or see page 3 of this newsletter.