Ellington

Jackson Free Press isn't the first paper that I've been the music editor for, though you probably haven't heard of the first, even if you attended Mississippi College. While The Collegian's readership consisted mostly of our own staff and faculty members who checked to make sure we didn't say anything too mean about the school, I'm proud of the pieces I wrote in that basement office, stuffed between the ROTC and much cooler yearbook offices. They had a throw rug and wall art, while we had 10 computer monitors from an indeterminate time period and two office chairs with the backs broken off.

During my three years at The Collegian, I developed a system: I would mostly cover and review music that interested me. That way, I wouldn't get burned out on writing. I didn't intend for it to be self-serving, but it made more practical sense, in my mind. Why write about artists I don't like since I'm the only one reading it?

I'm exaggerating, of course. We covered plenty of entertainment events in the Clinton area that weren't for my benefit alone, including local acts such as Captain and Company and college-sponsored seminars from world-class singers. I also did a long-form interview with the band There for Tomorrow, a secular pop-rock group that, for some reason, performed at the Christian private college, playing their hearts out to an overwhelmingly silent audience. The article was one of the best pieces I wrote for The Collegian and one of my first experiences with interviewing an internationally known artist.

I also had a few uncomfortable experiences at The Collegian, though, the worst of which happened during my junior year in November 2011, when I learned that my opinions mattered a lot more in writing than they did in person.

We were nearing the end of the month, and as our newspaper was bi-weekly, our staff was already planning ahead to Christmas coverage. Between the annual parade, the Festival of Lights, the Holiday Market and the Lighting of the Quad, the Christmas season was a massive industry in Clinton. Thus, it became one of the few times people remembered The Collegian existed, if only for the list of upcoming events.

That week, I was stumped on music ideas. Our paper mostly focused on events within Clinton, so I couldn't reach out to Jackson's burgeoning music scene for help. At the same time, I had no intention of writing another obligatory piece about the college's offerings, since the events were almost identical every year. Unless Santa Claus crash-landed directly onto the Quad, I just didn't have anything new to say.

Dr. Tim Nicholas, the school's head journalism professor and The Collegian's staff supervisor, suggested that I look into reviewing a local Christmas album instead, and he had just the one in mind. One senior girl, a vocal major and prominent member of MC's choir, released a CD of "classic holiday covers," as she stated it, and she had given a copy to Nicholas. I always liked the thought of reviewing local music, something I also do for Jackson Free Press because it gives exposure and might result in usable quotes for the artist.

"Even if The Collegian's readership is only marginally larger than our staff, coverage of any kind might help in spreading the word," I thought. I obtained permission from the young woman and then got to work.

Unfortunately, the record wasn't exactly what it was billed as. Even the back of the CD case, which was well produced and looked rather expensive, stated the album was a revival of the most beloved holiday songs in history from an up-and-coming young star. In actuality, there was little "revival" and a startling lack of youth. Not one of the 12 tracks that appeared sounded familiar to me, which is saying something, since I grew up in Southern Baptist churches. While the girl happily shelled money into creating quality recordings and top-of-the-line packaging, the songs were all unfamiliar hymns, chosen because they were in the public domain and free to use.

Now, I'm actually a nice person. I know that doesn't sound true if you have to say it, but I am. I didn't want to hurt this girl's feelings, so I rewrote the piece a number of times over the course of two weeks, trying to find a perfect balance of truth and kindness. While I wasn't proud of the end result—a stripped-bare, sterilized review that read more like a press release—I felt safe printing it, assuming she would be happy that I spent hours and paper-space to cover it, complimented her operatic voice and wrote only a few minor criticisms.

I was wrong, though. A few staff members and I hand-delivered stacks of new issues around the campus at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and by 3 p.m. the next day, I had received a startling number of "you're dead to me" glares from music professors, choir members and the singer's many friends. If I had to choose a mini-moral to the story, it would be, "Don't write anything even faintly insulting about someone with more supporters than you." But of course, that's not possible in journalism of any kind.

Nicholas asked to speak to me in private after our class ended on Wednesday because he'd been receiving emails about the review. I already felt sick to my stomach all day, and being reprimanded would only add a bit of emotion to the physical ailment. But at least I could wrap up all of the bad feelings in a single afternoon. Nicholas smiled as he told me how many people had been upset about the review. The singer had contacted him about writing a response letter, which printed in the next issue because journalists are masochists by nature. I apologized to him for creating the ordeal in the first place.

"Why?" he asked. "If you meant what you said, then why would you apologize?"

The conversation was brief, but it stuck with me. I've written many reviews for the Jackson Free Press, first as a freelancer and now as music editor. I've had people ask me what makes my opinion better than someone else's. Why should mine be printed when his or hers is not?

The simple answer: Music is an art form, so it's entirely subjective. But it's also objective. The goal is to reach wider audiences, to evolve and become better over time. I don't write reviews to be negative. I write them to encourage the strengths and acknowledge the weaknesses. I promise that I'll never do one without the other. And I'll never forget that people have opinions beyond my own.