If you havn't read my article about the Dartmouth Review, do that first. I have no love for neocons, but I have to admit that article is still pretty defensive for the Review in its nature.
In 2000, the Dartmouth Free Press was started specifically as an ultra-liberal counter to the Review, with the support of the Dartmouth College itself. For years, the Review has maintained a facade of professionalism with its neat layout, carefully chosen (for better or worse) subjects it chose to tackle, and a moderated dialog. The DFP has chosen not to fool anyone with its presentation, preferring to use street and gutter-level language and a taste for the sensational and vulgar. For a second there, I was about to make a comparison with another type of journalism like this that was endorsed by a certain ministry back in history only to trip over Godwin's Law oh snap Quirk's exception
Ahem.
Take for instance the very first issue of the DFP, which contains a critical article about the Review. Since the inception of the DFP, the staffers at the Review seem to have simply ignored their new rival with not much more than mild amusement. The Review does make a point to link to the DFP, which is more than likely in a show of one-upmanship rather than giving the audience a different viewpoint.
Enough of all that, let's look at what really makes the DFP a stunning example of student journalism.
If you look at the DFP's front page on its website, you might notice on the lower left-hand side a proud declaration that what you're looking at is powered by PHP and mySQL (take that, Micro$oft!) and it was written entirely in XEmacs. I'll be honest, the only thing I know about Emacs is it's a needlessly overcomplicated and archaic text editor, like Vi. The html files it outputs are no different than any other text editor -- it's like comparing bottled water. You may have a preference in which brand, but your body doesn't care as long as it gets hydrated. It's probably one of the most stupid things to ever brag about, as well -- when a person cares enough to inform you of what software he typed his html code in, it's meant as a subtle sort of jab aimed at folks who still use Notepad. In the case of the DFP, however, they are quick to point out who the crack is aimed at: Former President George W. Bush. Maybe they think W. is an avid user of Pico? I don't get it either.
I asserted in my article about the Review that it has no journalistic value; the DFP has managed to have even less simply by virtue of being a byproduct of the former. Every time the big dog that is the Review makes a misstep or offends, the DFP is running around its heels like an angry little Chihuahua. The Review is still content to market its Dartmouth Indian T-shirts, the DFP continues to foam at the mouth over this perceived form of "racism". Speaking of the retired Indian mascot, the Review will occaisionally publish a persuasive article for returning him. The DFP has labeled any stance in favor of the Indian mascot return as, and I quote, "Epic Fail".
You can't get more street and gutter-level than cribbing notes from /b/, something even /b/-tards will admit to. Thanks for all the laughs, DFP. Wah-hoo-wah!