In an age when journalism is going through monumental changes, even student journalists are innovating. While some are adapting to new information technologies by using the web in new ways, others fish for attention through more questionable means.

Tabloid-esque publications now seem to be en vogue, sometimes under false pretenses. Unabashed gossip, such as that of Rumor Royalty, Juicy Campus, and now College ACB, has gone mainstream. The “rise” of The Weekly and NUIntel threatens to blur the lines between amusing blather and substantive journalism.

Every Thursday, the Weekly inserts sections like “Confirmed and Denied”, “Social Diary”, and others into the middle of The Daily. The former, as the title implies, chronicles the unconfirmed social happenings of the preceding week. In a recent installment, the “Weekly Editors” (apparently no individual is brave enough to publish it under their name) spent two paragraphs bitterly bludgeoning Pike and calling out one of its freshman by name. Last year such memorable installments included stories about seniors waking up in freshmen’s beds and botched bar nights by fraternities—all hard-hitting news, to be sure.

But while some may consider it all harmless, the fact is that sometimes this unconfirmed “news” has consequences aside from just the personal. On several occasions last year, administrators interrogated fraternities, sororities, and even individual students about things referenced in the Daily’s pages. One published incident was even brought up when my fraternity went on trial for transgressions before UHAS. With university officials obviously watching, one wonders about the intent of editors who continue to publish such “dignified” material.

(To be fair, it seems as if the Weekly is making strides in this department, and, I cannot seem to find any “Confirmed and Denied” in the last three issues. If the new editors have indeed discontinued this section, they deserve credit for starting to weed out their tabloid material.)

But now, the newborn NUIntel is getting attention by using the same tricks with even more fervor. Earlier this year, their second-most read article of the week was “Former Rumor Royalty fave still getting schwasted,” a relic of the infamous gossip blog that faded away over a year ago with the graduation of its founder. But instead of conspicuous gossip, you click the “News” section to see subtitles like “Needy and slutty boys alike ride the [Deuce] Caboose” or go to the “Culture” section to read about “Frat feuds” or parties with “freshman girls fawning” over older boys. Perhaps I am just uncultured, but I don’t see the connection.

Among its worst practices are the ad hominem attacks against students and student groups. Recently in its “News” blog, NUIntel ridiculed then-candidate for ASG President Alessio Manti for being in Pike, and speculated that he changed his name from “Alex” to “Alessio” to appear more “edu-ma-cated.” (At least they stopped short of questioning his birth certificate and calling him a Muslim, I suppose.) In the same post, they also disparage a “platinum blonde” sophomore, planning on transfering to a sunbelt school, for allegedly getting breast implants. Like the Weekly, what makes it worse is that many of their tasteless posts (i.e. here, here, here, as well as the aforementioned) tend not to have individual bylines. Lacking the integrity to cast aspersions themselves, the writers hide under bylines like “NUIntel Editors,” and “Gossipmonger,” making them little better than those who litter anonymously on College ACB.

I concede its not as if these sites never publish anything of value—many of their features are actually quite interesting and applicable. But even there lies a problem. The Weekly, in its sixth year, and NUIntel, in its first, meld newsworthy pieces and unintelligible hearsay under the same banner. Gossip couched in newspaper print and gaudy web designs that scream “I lost thousands of dollars on this venture” are creative, but produce a false pretense for readers.

I do not consider myself a formal journalist, but I always assumed journalism was about disseminating reliable, consequential information to the public—about being constructive and relevant, not vitriolic and sensationalist.

If these so-called journalists wanted to satiate their creativity, they should instead look to investigative, opinion, or otherwise pertinent journalism that address issues of importance. While the economic major in me recognizes that there is a demand for this sort of tabloid entertainment, let us at last call it for what it is: gossip.

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