Iowa State Daily readers,

This letter is to serve as an apology for today’s print coverage of the Campustown shooting that took place early Sunday morning. We’ve had a few readers reach out to us about how they perceived our front page of the print paper to be insensitive because the shooting was not the highlighted story. In hindsight, I agree with these readers. However, I do want to explain how we made this mistake.

We had two reporters who do not cover crime or breaking news that were at the scene and got photographs, as well as Twitter coverage. The smaller number of us who regularly cover breaking news were asleep at the time of the shooting and when we woke up around 7:30 a.m., we immediately got as much information out as possible.

We provided five updates throughout the day on our website and social media where we reach most of our audience. Those updates included resources for those who may be coping with trauma after the event. Due to our print deadlines on Sundays, we were working on these online updates at the same time as working on our print product. Officials had not released the names of those injured and we were still collecting details from police and eye witnesses, so we wanted to wait to do a larger story at that time.

Because of working on follow ups for our digital platforms all day, we did not prioritize our print product. This was our mistake and we apologize for it. Covering every aspect of our campus, and prioritizing the most important topics, is a duty we take very seriously. We appreciate your feedback so that we can continue to do the best job possible.

-Emily Barske, editor in chief