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The Archive Series: What Happened to Editorial Writing?
Introduction: For this collection of writing, students in Ms. Johnsonʼs Upper School journalism class explored the schoolʼs historical archive of yearbooks, magazines and newspaper publications like “The Pine Needle.” Through research and interviews, they crafted and developed stories around a topic that piqued their interest. The writing both tells past stories and incorporates the modern-day perspective of the author. Enjoy!
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“Syrian Refugees: Should We Let Them In?”
“The Deplorables” (Editorial on the Republican Party)
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Back
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“Syrian Refugees: Should We Let Them In?”
“The Deplorables” (Editorial on the Republican Party)
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Above are headlines clipped from 2016 editions of The Pine Needle, which ended up titling stories that were published and written by students and faculty. Reading these in 2025, they seem highly polarizing and triggering. Could you imagine these stories being published now? Probably not. Since 2020, there has only been one politically charged opinion piece in The Pine Needle, and it came out only a few weeks ago.
Why has there been a decrease in the amount of editorial writing in The Pine Needle? Many factors are likely due to a decreased willingness to express personal opinions in the school paper, such as faculty turnover and a more strongly charged political climate.
First, more frequent shifts in faculty advisors is one reasonable explanation for the lack of editorials. Since 2022, there have been three different journalism teachers and five different advisors of the newspaper. Almost all editorials before were written during the tenure of Mrs. Kathleen Thomas, who oversaw The Pine Needle for seventeen years. In addition, the turbulent student staff change-over rate indicates those who were interested in writing more thoughtful pieces might not have been on staff long enough to explore this type of discourse.
One of Mrs. Thomas’ editors-in-chief, Alyx McKinnon ’16, was in charge of the paper during his senior year (2016), which was also extremely controversial in American politics. The headlines above were written by McKinnon or his team, and while divisive, reflect a period of thoughtful editorial discourse. Students debated everything from the Republican Party to the presence of Powerade in the dining hall drink machines. However, with these stories came pushback from the administration.
McKinnon revealed that two of the stories he edited were blocked by the School leadership at the time. The first was a piece bashing the 2016 URI bike race for limiting city parking, and the second was on a male couple who went to the Junior-Senior Dance together (one of the boys was suspended prior). While these two stories didn’t make the final cut, he praises the staff for being willing to take a stand on the issues they did. He notes that “it’s a very difficult position to be in and I think the natural response to it [was] to be risk-averse,” yet they offered pushback at times in service of stronger journalism.
Why has there been a decrease in the amount of editorial writing in The Pine Needle? Many factors are likely due to a decreased willingness to express personal opinions in the school paper, such as faculty turnover and a more strongly charged political climate.
First, more frequent shifts in faculty advisors is one reasonable explanation for the lack of editorials. Since 2022, there have been three different journalism teachers and five different advisors of the newspaper. Almost all editorials before were written during the tenure of Mrs. Kathleen Thomas, who oversaw The Pine Needle for seventeen years. In addition, the turbulent student staff change-over rate indicates those who were interested in writing more thoughtful pieces might not have been on staff long enough to explore this type of discourse.
One of Mrs. Thomas’ editors-in-chief, Alyx McKinnon ’16, was in charge of the paper during his senior year (2016), which was also extremely controversial in American politics. The headlines above were written by McKinnon or his team, and while divisive, reflect a period of thoughtful editorial discourse. Students debated everything from the Republican Party to the presence of Powerade in the dining hall drink machines. However, with these stories came pushback from the administration.
McKinnon revealed that two of the stories he edited were blocked by the School leadership at the time. The first was a piece bashing the 2016 URI bike race for limiting city parking, and the second was on a male couple who went to the Junior-Senior Dance together (one of the boys was suspended prior). While these two stories didn’t make the final cut, he praises the staff for being willing to take a stand on the issues they did. He notes that “it’s a very difficult position to be in and I think the natural response to it [was] to be risk-averse,” yet they offered pushback at times in service of stronger journalism.
After McKinnon’s senior year, the editorial writing output gradually started to slow. This decrease can primarily be attributed to a shifting political climate in our country over the past nine years. Specifically, the 2020 civil justice movements and the rise of online “cancel culture” have openly discouraged discourse in some areas.
In my estimation, many have strayed from attaching their names to headlines for fear of the staying power of content with the internet. In addition to The Pine Needle, these factors have been recently considered by the school when sending communications and posting on social media. The mastermind behind that front, Director of Communications Mrs. Sharon Dion, agrees with these sentiments, disclosing that the best choice for the school oftentimes was “to take a middle ground” in an attempt to satisfying as many people as possible. In regards to the decline in editorial writing, she said, “I think it’s probably going to be a while before people are comfortable again with respectful disagreement” and compared the climate of discourse to a pendulum. This is because while they take extreme swings, pendulums ultimately find some form of a return to the mean.
My current role as Editor of The Pine Needle both enhances my perspective and subjects me to biases in favor of editorial writing. I am of the belief that meaningful writing and ideas should be published for all, whether or not they’re in line with the thinking of higher powers and institutions.
However, it’s important to note that an editorial’s purpose is a net positive, and it’s not intended to drag others down. It offers interesting critiques and reframes people’s perspectives in helpful ways to improve a system. This idea also applies to those who are in charge – an editorial primarily functions as feedback. This said, it needs to be thoughtful enough to warrant legitimate discussion without slandering the subject matter or person.
In my estimation, many have strayed from attaching their names to headlines for fear of the staying power of content with the internet. In addition to The Pine Needle, these factors have been recently considered by the school when sending communications and posting on social media. The mastermind behind that front, Director of Communications Mrs. Sharon Dion, agrees with these sentiments, disclosing that the best choice for the school oftentimes was “to take a middle ground” in an attempt to satisfying as many people as possible. In regards to the decline in editorial writing, she said, “I think it’s probably going to be a while before people are comfortable again with respectful disagreement” and compared the climate of discourse to a pendulum. This is because while they take extreme swings, pendulums ultimately find some form of a return to the mean.
My current role as Editor of The Pine Needle both enhances my perspective and subjects me to biases in favor of editorial writing. I am of the belief that meaningful writing and ideas should be published for all, whether or not they’re in line with the thinking of higher powers and institutions.
However, it’s important to note that an editorial’s purpose is a net positive, and it’s not intended to drag others down. It offers interesting critiques and reframes people’s perspectives in helpful ways to improve a system. This idea also applies to those who are in charge – an editorial primarily functions as feedback. This said, it needs to be thoughtful enough to warrant legitimate discussion without slandering the subject matter or person.
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