Mistakes matter
Mistakes suck.
I’m talking about the inevitable, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I did that” moments that riddle the path on our road to success. They damage our egos and, if you’re a perfectionist like myself, can cause emotional distress.
The Utah Statesman makes a lot of mistakes. We’ll own up to it; if you spend any time in our office you’ll know that we are the first to make fun of ourselves. I have been a contributing factor to my fair share of those mistakes and for that, I apologize.
But because I spend most of my time working for an imperfect organization. I’ve learned a few things. Mistakes are embarrassing and painful, but no one is immune.
We’ve all been there: the star Aggie athlete screws up a final play and the championship is lost. The student in the robotics lab forgets to connect the do-dad to the thing-a-ma-jig and things go haywire. Or, a student journalist leaves out crucial aspects of her university in an infographic about student involvement (a prize for whoever can guess who this is).
It’s important to note that these mistakes are not intentional. Although it is the responsibility of both the reporter and editor to check and re-check facts in every story, mistakes slip by. Yes, it’s possible for a misspelled headline to escape the attention of five or six students after being on campus for 14 hours.
The beautiful thing about being a student at this university is that mistakes are expected, rather, anticipated. The space has been created for us to fail, then grow. If you’re able to skate your way through your undergraduate years free from painful mistakes, what have you gained through this experience? What have you learned?
The Statesman holds itself to a high journalistic standard, adhering to the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics. When a mistake runs in the paper or is posted online, we correct it as soon as possible. In other words, in our aim for excellence we recognize the importance of owning up to these mistakes.
Whether it’s a slew of angry emails or a stadium of “booing” fans, we all have to face the music. The people we’ve “wronged” deserve an explanation. But, the key aspect of dealing with the aftermath is learning how to take the criticism and move on. In other words, take what you can from an experience, and leave the rest in the past.
My affiliation with the Statesman is not just another peg on my resume. It’s an irreplaceable experience that has taught me much more than I could ever learn in a classroom. I am surrounded by journalists and photojournalists whose innovation and passion inspire me. But with innovation comes stumbling blocks, something we’ve had to learn over and over again. Our office attitude is simple: when we fail, we fail big. What amazes me about this imperfect organization is its ability to learn from its failures and continue to build, week after week.
Please continue to send us your thoughts, criticism and complaints. Our paper exists to serve this campus and when we let you down we take it seriously; I know I do.
— Manda Perkins is a senior studying journalism and English. Flood her inbox with comments or concerns at manda.perkins@hotmail.com.