To our readers: There is a process. We promise.

In light of the fact that last Thursday’s issue of The Commonwealth Times offended several members of the VCU community, the editorial staff decided Sunday to run an explanation on the front page selection process.

Each week, assignments are doled out to writers and photographers at news meetings by the managing and section editors.
We then remain in close contact as the story develops in order to coordinate art and tone.

After photographing the dress rehearsal for the play, “Beirut,” Photography Co-Editor Jake Cunningham returned with upwards of 400 photos. Based on content from other stories and the strength of Cunningham’s collection, the executive and managing editors decided that “Beirut” would be the story featured on the cover.

Although the play featured two actors wearing little to no clothing for the entire length of the performance, the photos were deemed safe enough by the staff to run on the front page.

Spectrum Editor Veronica Garabelli, Managing Editor Roberto Curtis, Executive Editor Rich Griset, Graphic Designer Melissa Tablante and Photography Co-Editor Natalie Allen all approved the photo for publication.

Selecting the tone for the article and the front page required careful deliberation because of the partial nudity and violence portrayed in the photographs. The executive, managing and photography editors made the decision to run the photo based on its compositional strengths. The play, a tragedy, needed an appropriately dark photo to get the point across.

The headline, “Power of Love” was more than just a line from a Huey Lewis and the News song. It needed to address the sentimental side of the production so as to create contrast with the photo.

Like life, a work of art includes elements of tension and release. In order to portray this, the staff decided to run photos that captured the broad spectrum of emotion contained in “Beirut;” hence, the two emotionally contrasting photos accompanying the article.

Of the selected photos, none were picked arbitrarily. We did not intend to harm the feelings of our readers.

In a world with a slew of perspectives, The Commonwealth Times wishes to reassure its readers that objectivity and quality are its goals, not censorship.