On Thursday, the Northern Star published an article that disclosed that Jay-Z and R. Kelly were rehearsing at the Convocation Center.

After we ran the story, we received a phone call from an angry reader who said we shouldn’t have run the article because it may have cost NIU a concert.

Whether our decision to run the article had any influence on the artists’ decision not to do a show is unknown and irrelevant now. However, our responsibility as a news organization is widely acknowledged.

Even though many of us were looking forward to the possibility of a show, the NIU community’s need to know the news outweighed potentially negative backlash from Convo Center officials and potentially positive consequences for students – including ourselves.

It is not our job as a newspaper to withhold legitimate news from the public just because it could prevent something from happening – or because it might upset some readers. Were this the case, the Star would run blank every day.

It is also not in our job description to act as a public relations firm and print the news as officials want it when officials want because it is in their best interest.

As a newspaper, we act in the best interest of the public, and we have a responsibility to our readers to report the news as it happens. Doing anything else would only imply that the newspaper can be manipulated – and a paper that can be bought with the mere possibility of a concert is hardly a credible source of information.

If the Star hadn’t run the story, people would have wondered what was going on. Students who went to pick up football tickets at the arena last week saw and heard things – and knew something was up.

It is the Star’s job as a newspaper to be an information source for the NIU community and let readers know what is going on so they don’t have to wonder.