Editor in Chief

It seems MTV has hatched a brilliant plot. They've decided to create a TV program about the staff of an award-winning student newspaper and the daily challenges they face. The student newspaper's "fiercely competitive student staff exhibits the aptitude, pride and ambition of future leaders," MTV brags. "They still put their hearts and souls into writing memorable stories and making the best paper they possibly can."

Sound familiar?

Well, it should, because last December local filmmaker Aaron Matthews' The Paper debuted on PBS' Independent Lens series. (I even blogged about it.) The Paper also focused on the student staff and the "future leaders" of journalism. It also examined the daily challenges they were confronted with. The opening credits even feature an eerily similar shot of printing presses whirling away.

A coincidence?

Well, I'm keeping my opinion guarded, so MTV doesn't steal that, too. Of course, there are crucial differences in the way MTV wanted portray their Paper. Unlike Matthews' The Paper, MTV chooses not to focus on "heated rallies, political debates and community concerns." Instead, it seems MTV would rather force us "to watch as the drama unfolds." No, not drama that is intrinsic to breaking news, vocalizing student concerns or investigating stories, but "who'll excel and who'll have a meltdown" and "will they stay friends till the end?"

When I heard about MTV's The Paper, my first reaction was a sigh of relief. Finally, something besides rich, blonde socialites who worry about little else besides boyfriends, bars and bra sizes. Maybe the MTV addicts would learn something about journalism rather than proper drink mixing techniques and club-hopping ettiquette. Maybe a new generation would even be inspired to pick up the newspaper.

Unfortunately, MTV's series opts for drama over substance and cliques over clips. So do yourself a favor and don't watch MTV's cheap knockoff. Yeah, our version is lacking in make-out scenes and catfights, but it's a real look into student journalism and a daily newspaper -- one that hasn't been bent into some MTV distortion.