At 10 p.m. on Monday, the Daily Nebraskan staff looked up from computer screens and page proofs to watch the KETV Channel 7 newscast out of Omaha.
Lead story: Omaha now has a smoking ban. Then there was news of an accident, a small fire, a gas leak and a possible merger of the housing inspection units.
Yeah, it was a pretty slow news day.
But before the anchors broke for a short commercial break, they teased a sensational new story - a look at the "power of the pen" and a "controversial" cartoon in the Daily Nebraskan.
We stayed tuned, as we are sure most viewers did - especially since football and a fat joke were possibly involved.
Plus, all of us at the Daily Nebraskan were curious to see what the controversy on campus was, seeing as we had not received a single phone call or letter on the topic. We had begun receiving more Web hits and comments around 7 p.m. after a popular Kansas sports message board had linked the cartoon. Still, campus was quiet.
There are days when I know the Daily Nebraskan has created a controversy (it usually involves a newspaper being slapped down on a desk in my first class). And this just didn't seem like one of those days.
After the commercial break, the anchors lost no time breaking news of how an editorial cartoon printed in Monday's Daily Nebraskan - criticizing Nebraska football fans for doing the wave as a Kansas player laid in pain on the field - was "drawing some heat."
Plus, an anchor added with a smirk, the cartoon takes a shot at KU's football coach. (Who is, for those who don't know, overweight.)
"Controversy? All over campus? What?" we asked each other as the KETV reporter began telling the tale of a cartoon gone misunderstood.
Our cartoonist, Brent Meier, nervously appeared on screen, explaining the context of his cartoon and how he just wanted to start dialogue about fan behavior at games.
But before Meier had the opportunity to explain that he got the inspiration for the "fat joke" from T-shirts a number of KU fans wore to the game that read, "Our coach could eat your coach" (which, in Meier's opinion, was not very tasteful), the newscast moved on.
Quickly, the scene changed to the Nebraska Union common areas, just up the stairs from our office.
Pretty much, it appears the reporter walked up to random University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, handed them a copy of the cartoon and asked if it was distasteful. The leading questions and lack of context worked, because two students said they disapproved.
As the Daily Nebraskan staff continued watching, eyebrows raised and heads started shaking. "Huh?" we all thought in quiet unison, "This isn't really the full story."
Then UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman's statement regarding the cartoon, which he only wrote because KETV asked for it, flashed on the screen along with his mug shot.
In that statement, Perlman said the cartoon was in "extremely poor taste" and that he expects the DN to "show better judgment." But for those diehard Cornhusker fans, Perlman made sure to also mention "Nebraska is known for treating its opposing teams with respect."
That's when a surprised chorus of "What?" rang out through the newsroom. If Perlman had a problem with the cartoon, why didn't he contact the Daily Nebraskan about it himself? Why did we have to hear such harsh words on the 10 p.m. news? And was he not at the game when a wave went rippling through the stadium as a player lay injured?
Speeding along, Perlman's mug disappeared and was replaced by a clip of our opinion editor, Collin Sullivan, standing in front of the Daily Nebraskan entrance.
Sullivan stood by the Daily Nebraskan's decision to run the cartoon - again mentioning that at that moment, he had not received a single phone call or letter.
The broadcast ended with a copy of Monday's Daily Nebraskan violently blowing in the October wind against the backdrop of the union (and one window of the Daily Nebraskan's basement office if you look really close).
We turned off the news.
Everyone took a deep breath.
Then the comments came: "So did the reporter have that story written before he even got here?" "Uh, so, is 'biased' the word to use?" "Could that have been any more sensational?" "Wow, and that's why I am never working in broadcasting."
After a few minutes, everyone went back to work, and a Web editor began monitoring our site - the number of hits skyrocketed by the minute and even more letters began piling up in our e-mail inbox.
By Tuesday night, the number of Web hits was far more than 3,600 - all of Meier's other cartoons this semester brought 726 hits combined - and we had to add a second page to today's opinion section to accommodate all the letters we received.
The good thing is people in Nebraska and Kansas are talking about the issues of fan behavior that inspired the cartoon.
Still, this is not the way reporting should happen.
As our editors are trying to teach new reporters the art of not asking leading questions, we witnessed a professional do so. As we scramble to cover all the campus happenings (in addition to attending class full-time), we saw a television station create a controversy.
I will tell you, it is not easy being on the opposite end of a news story. This experience has taught many of us at the Daily Nebraskan numerous valuable (even if they are painful) lessons. It has also made us reflect on some of the times that perhaps we were not as fair as we should have been.
It's been two days full of interviews and message-returning. Two days full of taking responsibility and playing the "public relations game." Two days full of debating and discussing. Two days full of learning and teaching.
But I suppose that's what slow news weeks are for.
