Archive for September, 2010

College Media’s Future: Should Student Journalists Be Paid?

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Future of Journalism, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 30, 2010 | 6 Comments »

The Orient as we know it is dying.  The Bowdoin College student newspaper is bleeding money from its coffers at a pace that will soon make printing actual copies an unaffordable luxury.

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In an easy-breezy blame game, the big fat target is the college’s SAFC.  Last fall, the Student Activities Funding Committee suddenly sliced the school’s annual contribution to the Orient budget by more than 50 percent.  Its funding allotment this year is only slightly higher.  And so, unexpectedly in need of mega-amounts of cash, fast, where has the paper turned?  An independent Orient savings account.  The plot thickens.

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This independent account contains revenue from the newspaper’s subscriptions and advertising sales.  It has traditionally been used by the Orient editorial board to cover a slew of costs, most prominently providing stipends for reporters, editors, and other staff.  So in sum: For years now, related school funding has gone toward Orient printing charges.  Simultaneously, the paper’s own ad/subscription revenue has gone mostly toward staff pay.

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As a former editor in chief explains, “The Orient began paying weekly stipends to staffers years ago. The editors determined that doing so creates incentives to do good work and inspires a sense of obligation in a perpetually distracted staff. . . . It now appears that the funding committee is trying to strong-arm the Orient into using [the paper's independent account] to cover the bulk of printing and distribution costs, making it untenable for the editors to continue paying their staff.”

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The SAFC strong-arm tactic is certainly inelegant for its abruptness.  But its larger point of protest is at least worth exploring.  What the SAFC seems to be saying with its budget slash: The school helps pay for campus events and organizations, not the students who run them.  So while it’s nice that the paper can afford to pay its staff, it should first cover its own printing.

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The Orient‘s retort: Chicken meet egg.  Without motivated student journalists, there will not be any (quality) content worth printing.  As the e-board argued in a recent editorial, “The Future of the Orient“:

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“The SAFC has the College’s best interests at heart. It intends to allocate its large budget as fairly as possible, and from its eyes, the Orient‘s existing savings imply that it does not require as much help from the SAFC as those non-revenue-generating clubs without independent accounts. . . . But the SAFC’s aims to level the playing field are not just.  The Orient provides an essential service to the College, and has done so since 1871. It has the right to maintain a personal account and not be at the SAFC’s mercy for every cent.  If we can count on the SAFC to cover the cost of printing, we will continue to have the incentive to produce a good newspaper that generates the revenue that takes care of everything else.”

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What do you think? Should the opportunity to learn journalism firsthand, scrape together bylines, and build a resume be incentive enough for the 21st-century j-student?  Or should college media staffwork be considered something worth paying for, a necessity on par with a quality printer and an active Web presence?

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LSU Shreveport Student Paper Resumes Printing, for Free

Posted in College Media, Future of Journalism, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The Almagest at LSU Shreveport is back in print, sporting a “newly-designed, all-color” hard copy issue for the first time in a year.  The student newspaper had been forced to shed its ink-stained edition out of financial duress last fall.

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As the paper itself reported: “Since the beginning of the current economic depression, every component of LSUS has experienced its repercussions in different ways. A lack of funds has slashed the hours of Noel Memorial Library, almost every SGA meeting has time spend working around one budget crisis or another and for the LSUS newspaper, the Almagest, it took away one of the defining aspects of a publication: a printed paper.”

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After operating online-only for two semesters, the weekly paper has returned to its printed glory, interestingly, through an LSUS upper-level management student’s class project.  As the Almagest shares, “[The student's] idea was very simple; ask The Shreveport Times [the nearby professional daily] to print the paper [for free], and in exchange, sell and print ads in it as well.”

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Through the unique printing-advertising arrangement, print Almagest 2.0 is larger than its predecessor and appearing for the first time in color.  The student paper’s executive editor: “Words can’t explain how excited the staff here at the Almagest is about our new creation, but we are even more excited for what it means for the university.”

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Student Newspaper Allowed to Resume Publishing, One Issue Too Late

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »

The contractual gobbledygook that led to a recent student press-school admin. standoff at California’s Southwestern College has been settled.  But, according to the Student Press Law Center, tensions remain.

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The gist, as I previously outlined: The semester starts.  Southwestern College officials suddenly block publication of the student paper’s first issue.  They say The Sun must follow a previously-ignored rule on the school books.  The rule requires the paper “to put its printing business out to competitive bid and sign a contract with the winning bidder.”

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The paper’s faculty adviser and student editors cry foul over the timing of administrators’ must-bid requirement.  They say it may be an attempt to stop publication of some highly-charged local election stories the staff are putting to bed. Administrators deny the censorship charge, confirming the paper is still free to publish online.  Cue SPLC involvement and related media coverage.

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Now, the bid process is apparently over.  So the Sun is free to print once again.  Its editors, though, are saying it is one issue too late.  They canceled the printing of the first issue of the semester due to the out-of-the-blue blockage.

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Some stories ran online.  Yet, most were held for what will now be issue-two-turned-into-one, in hopes they will still resonate.  The Sun adviser: “[Staffers] are kind of keeping their cards close to their chests, they want to put it out in print first. There’s symbolic reasons now for doing all of this.”  (For those keeping score, that’s one more vote for the staying power of print.)

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Story Idea: College Faculty, Staff Living in Student Dorms

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Story Ideas on September 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

In a new piece for The Washington Post, higher ed. reporter extraordinaire Jenna Johnson identifies a growing trend at colleges nationwide: faculty, staff, and their spouses and kids living among students in the dorms.

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In my stint overseas, I saw faculty and family regularly provided with on-campus housing, although in separate buildings.  By comparison, here in the states, the tenured and untenured alike are occasionally residing directly down the hall from the student contingent- acting as counselors and companions in part so schools can “create a more personal, small-campus feel.”

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According to Johnson, “In exchange for free rent, these professors agree to live among the masses, answer questions, attend floor meetings, endure odd noises at late hours and host small gatherings in their quarters, which typically are larger than the dorm rooms shared by students. Some students never stop by, and others form lifelong friendships with their older neighbors.”

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It is an interesting trend, one worth localizing.  Does your school have any on-campus non-student housing options?  And if so, how do they work?  Would profs. and other staff consider a campus domicile?  What would university employees need or want as extras to a typical dorm?  And of course, what do students think- the RAs, the honors elite, and the oft-inebriated?

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Thieves Break Into Torch Newsroom (Again) at UMD

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

In the past two years, The Torch newsroom at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has suffered a pair of break-ins resulting in stolen tech equipment totaling more than $13,000.  In March 2009, thieves made off with a range of items from the student paper’s HQ, including the then-EIC’s personal laptop.  The most recent break-in occurred late last weekend- an iMac is missing and the newsroom was trashed.

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As the lead story of the current Torch issue recounts, “The office was in disarray.  In addition to the small trash bin being knocked over, the cabinet doors and desk drawers were open, desks were moved and the couch was tipped over.”

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The current EIC’s reaction, outlined in an e-mail to staff: “I find this act to be not only a violation of our privacy but also extremely disrespectful.  I have no idea as to why anyone would do this.”  It is an interesting question.  Obviously, a basic desire for wrongdoing and free new media seems most obvious.  Or might it be someone (or a few someones) attempting to simultaneously get the paper’s attention?  Regardless of the motive, the paper rightfully placed coverage of the act on its front page, linking it to a larger slew of vandalism and thefts on campus.

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Purdue Student Paper’s “Sex Position” Cartoon Prompts Outrage, Apology

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 24, 2010 | 4 Comments »

A cartoon published in last Friday’s Exponent, Purdue University’s student newspaper, has spurred criticisms and an online protest for its depiction of what some perceived as non-consensual sexual activity.  The paper’s editor in chief has apologized for the cartoon, part of a regular Exponent series, “Sex Position of the Week.”

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In the controversial three-panel strip, a pair of men are shown furtively attempting to have sex with the same unsuspecting woman, switching spots in the middle with a high-five.  As a related guide explains, “The partner standing behind the other trades with a friend who has been hiding in the closet.  The receiving partner must not realize a change has been made.”

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According to a New York Daily News report, the cartoon “drew outrage on the West Lafayette, Ind., campus, flooding the newspaper e-mail inbox with angry responses.  To many readers, the cartoon in question looked a lot less like boyish hijinks and a lot more like rape.”

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As one criticism noted: “The Exponent is creating an unsafe environment for its female students, as well as depicting females as sexual objects, whose victimization is viewed as a source of entertainment.”  A separate Facebook group, started by a Purdue alum and sporting roughly 200 members, spells out its message in its title: “Tell Purdue Exponent Advocating Rape is NOT OKAY.”

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Exponent editor in chief Zoe Hayes penned an extremely respectful, heartfelt apology for the cartoon’s printing:

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First things first: We made a mistake in printing Friday’s sex position of the week, and I, the editorial board, and the Exponent are extremely sorry.  Our apologies extend to the entire campus, both men and women; to alumni, parents, and current and former faculty and staff; and to anyone who saw the graphic and was offended or triggered by what was depicted. We’ve heard from many of you and understand your concerns. . . . On Friday and over the weekend, we received a flood of e-mails and phone calls telling us that this sort of graphic is unacceptable. And as soon as we received the first one and looked at it again- really looked at it- we agreed. If someone engages in any sexual act with anyone without his or her explicit consent, it’s rape. The comic can easily be interpreted that way.

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My take: Mistakes happen.  The criticisms are valid.  Hayes admirably owned up. The Exponent is an excellent, award-winning paper.  There was obviously no ill intent.  The lesson has been learned.

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In a larger sense, to j-students everywhere, take note: Sexual content has more potential to explode in controversy than almost anything else within the student press.  The solution of course is not to avoid covering or satirizing sexual issues.  Just give related stories and art extra vetting.  And read my book on how college media over the past decade have handled sex in print, rightly and wrongly. :-)

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In the Spotlight: Amanda Podgorny, Northern Star, NIU

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Journalist Spotlight, Student Newspaper on September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

According to Amanda Podgorny, The Northern Star at Northern Illinois University sports a handful of student journalists known simply as “the muckrakers.” “During any given school year, you will see the Star break anywhere from two to five in-depth investigative stories that the local papers seem to be lacking,” said Podgorny.  ”These people take their roles as watchdogs very seriously, and continue to file FOIA after FOIA to get all the facts.”

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Podgorny is a star muckraker for the Star.  One of her highest-profile investigations launched last fall- sparked by a single concerned citizen and centered on a DeKalb, Ill., alderman and a possibly shady series of business contracts with the city which he serves.  For her FOIAwesomeness (yes, I went there) and general journalistic passion, Podgorny rightfully earns a place in the CMM Student Journalist Spotlight.

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Below, she recalls the camp that sparked her j-love and the alderman contracts story that tested her reporting mettle and document digging and requesting skills.

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How did you become interested in journalism?

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My initial reaction to this question: I suck at math and science. :-)  In all seriousness, I attended a journalism camp the summer before my senior year of high school.  The only reason I applied for the camp was because I wanted to be the editor in chief of my high school newspaper and this would help my chances.

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Journalism had never even crossed my mind as a career option, mostly because I did not realize there were people actually getting paid to write the articles I saw in the newspaper and online.  I was accepted into the camp, and it was free for me thanks to the Illinois Press Foundation and the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund.  I spent two weeks of my summer learning journalism.  In the second week of camp, we went to different newspapers and shadowed real journalists.

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During the camp, we put out a total of three newspapers to show that we actually learned something.  I went back to my high school, landed the EIC position, and  was miserable.  While I had spent the summer learning everything our newspaper was doing wrong (the whole paper was an editorial), the rest of the staff could not wait to write about their favorite memories or favorite songs of the summer.  I could not get anyone to follow AP Style, or even comprehend what it was, so I just laid low for awhile.  Needless to say, I have no clips from The Devil’s Advocate in my portfolio. I started college in August 2007, and landed an interview at the Northern Star during the second week of classes.  I have been running with the big dogs of journalism ever since.

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Why does the Northern Star rock?

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We have an entire staff of awesome, passionate journalists working to put out a paper every day, striving to make it better than the last.  Our adviser, Jim, is always there to offer suggestions and guidance on any topic- whether it be design advice, a roadblock with a source or where we should go for lunch.  Students are taking anywhere from six to 20 credit hours and still managing to put out one of the top college newspapers in the country.  Another thing that really makes the Northern Star staff stand out is our involvement within the city of DeKalb.  Yes, we are a campus newspaper, but it’s not our only focus.  We are in direct competition with the local newspaper to see who can put out the news first, and see who does it better.  To sum it all up, we are full-time working journalists who just happen to still be in school.  We do it all, and we do it damn well.

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How did you first become curious about the alderman contracts story?

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The story came my way via a concerned citizen.  My city council reporter received a phone call one night around 5:30 p.m., right when I was coming out of budget.  He was talking to the citizen, when suddenly I heard the words that mean you are about to hear something really good or get yelled at: “Umm, let me get you my editor.”  I took the call, and that’s when the concerned citizen gave me the run-through.  We met at the Founders Memorial Library on campus about an hour after she called me so I could meet with her in person and talk to her about the situation and her concerns.  Basically, one of her rituals was to look through the city’s check register and look up who the city had been writing checks to.  She just happened to find that the city was writing checks to a company owned by an alderman.  She did not know where to go next, so she turned to us.

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My job was then to get all the documents I could to prove this claim to be true. Once I gathered all the documents I requested, I was able to see the story clearly. The basics: a company owned by an alderman was receiving contracts to do masonry work downtown.  At the time, there were no city ordinances banning this, or really saying anything about it, other than if there is a conflict of interest, they must abstain from a vote.  The city attorney apparently told the alderman and city manager that she did not see any conflict of interest, so he was awarded the contracts.

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No one knew about the alderman doing the work in the city except for him- and the city- even though he was being paid with TIF (tax increment funding) money, which comes from DeKalb taxpayers.  Also, Illinois state law says that if a project is under $20,000, it can be approved by the city manager without being presented to the city council.  All the alderman’s projects totaled around $50,000, but no single project was more than $20,000, so it never went to council (although there is speculation that the city did this intentionally).

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Obviously as a college journalist I was excited to work on a story that would potentially make a real impact.  I was used to covering meetings and writing features, but this- this was big, and I knew it.  One thing that really got me working extra fast was the citizen’s words to me: “I told the other local paper about this, and they didn’t seem very interested, so I came to you.”  This was a chance to prove that the Northern Star is the real deal.  The next day I filed my Freedom of Information Act requests, and waited.

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What was the key to breaking the story, and did you run into any roadblocks along the way?

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The city pulled a fast one on me, and I can’t say that I was happy about it. The city decided to put out a press release saying that it would be talking about its policy on awarding alderman city contracts (I wonder where that idea came from?) on the same day I received my last FOIA back.  I had a leg up on the local paper because I had all the documents I needed in order to add some background to the story, but I was still a little bummed.  I was able to catch the city manager before he left the office, and after I had asked him all the interview questions, I asked why the city decided to put out this press release about a topic that would look totally random to the community.  His response?  “Your requests.  How did you find out about this?” When I told him that someone had come to me with a concern, and wouldn’t give him a name, he hung up on me.

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What’s your advice for j-students who want to similarly do some digging and be an investigative reporter extraordinaire?

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My advice to other j-students is to listen to people within the community.  Try and see what their concerns and thoughts are on issues within the area.  Most of the time it will just be people blowing off steam, but every once in awhile you will find a diamond in the rough.  Once you have that lead on a story, you have to know how to clean it up and make it something great.

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Do not be afraid to stir something up.  As journalists, it is our job to make sure the people in charge know that we are watching their every move.  I think that sometimes, because we are still in school, people in positions of power discount our ability and will give us the run-around.  So make sure you know what you are looking for.  It also helps to know the laws (FOIA and OMA), so when they say you can’t have a document because it would take too much time to copy, or that it will cost you $500 to get the copy, you can recite the law and catch them in not only a lie, but a violation of the law.

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Also, student journalists need to take advantage of their school newspapers.  The newspaper industry is not dying, but it sure is changing.  When j-students graduate, they are expected to have several skills.  I am graduating in December and I am trying to learn all aspects of the newsroom before then.  I am learning design, how to post things online, and how to edit and shoot video, on top of the skills I already have.  Take advantage of the opportunities to learn these skills while you still can because once you get into the working world, they will expect you to do it all, and might not be so friendly if you mess something up.

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You wake up in ten years.  Where are you and what are you doing?

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I hope to be a successful journalist at a fairly large daily newspaper.  I am not aiming for the New York Times in ten years, but  something like the Chicago Tribune would be nice.  Honestly, I will be happy wherever I am, as long as I am able to put out news that people care about.  In ten years, I want to be the journalist who has 1,000 comments on every story she writes.  That way, I know people are reading my work and that I am indirectly making a difference in the community, wherever that may be.

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College Paper’s Printing Contract Causes Censorship Dispute

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Is it censorship or just the enforcement of a policy that had for too long gone overlooked? An intriguing debate has surfaced at California’s Southwestern College over school officials’ sudden interest in how its campus newspaper is selecting its printer.

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As The San Diego Union-Tribune (via Inside Higher Ed) reports: “The issue arises from the administration’s discovery of a 1990 policy that requires the newspaper to put its printing business out to competitive bid and sign a contract with the winning bidder, in accord with the college’s standard procedures.  Both sides acknowledge that the policy has not been followed or enforced for at least 15 years. But the administration has now told the students that they must not publish another print edition until they comply.”

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The paper’s faculty adviser and student editors are crying foul over the timing of administrators’ must-bid requirement, saying it may be an attempt to stop publication of some highly-charged local election stories the staff are putting to bed.  The adviser: “They are trying to use this now to deter us from printing our first issue of the semester.  I’m suspicious because the students have been out doing their work, talking to developers, talking to board candidates, about where campaign contributions are going. They ask a lot of hot questions.”

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Admins. strongly deny any sort of censorship, stating the paper is free to publish online at all times and can begin again in print once all the bids are in and a printer has been selected.

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My take: Based on the facts presented in the press, I’d label the school’s behavior as inconsiderate and suspicious but not censorious.  No one seems to be arguing about the validity of the policy or the fact that it has been on the books for two decades.   It is the sudden and uncompromising nature of administrators’ enforce-at-all-costs mentality that has the paper’s staff and student press advocates worried.

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Under the circumstances, should administrators wait until the semester break or even next summer to enforce the policy?  Yes.  Truly, why rush?  An about-face after two decades should come with fair warning and some lead time.  And that way, there won’t be even the slightest stench of censorship in the air.

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Chicago St. Censorship: Tempo Court Case Continues

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Student Newspaper on September 17, 2010 | 2 Comments »

A mini-major student press victory has emerged from a federal courtroom in Chicago.  According to a Student Press Law Center news flash, and a separate Courthouse News Service report, a judge has ruled that a former editor and former faculty adviser of The Tempo at Chicago State University may continue their lawsuit against the school over alleged administrative censorship.

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As the SPLC shares, “The suit accuses the school of multiple activities to censor and disrupt Tempo publication, leading to the cancellation of multiple issues. [The former student editor] alleges the school’s hostility led him to resign from his post as editor and ultimately drop out of school. He and [the former faculty adviser] claim the school harassed, censored and ultimately fired [the adviser] due to his lack of content censorship over the controversial paper, robbing the paper of its adviser.”

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The judge called Tempo content “constitutionally-protected expression,” a bold redirect from the 2005 Hosty v. Carter ruling that gave admins. broad censorship rights over college journalism on par with those impacting high school journalism. The case will now go to a jury trial.

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My take: Bravo.  The acts of censorship carried out by Chicago State administrators disrupted the tempo of the school’s student press.  They deserve an official judicial reprimand.  This ruling is an important step in the fight to see that happen.  The bottom line: College and high school news media are different.  Both are laboratories of learning, but at the college level students are in control.  They deserve freedom and protection, advising and ultimate consent, room to grow and space to fail.

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Student Newspapers *Still* More Popular in Print

Posted in College Media, Future of Journalism, Journalism, New Media, Student Newspaper on September 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Since the dawn of time, and through the rise of online, one immutable truth remains, ink-stained: The student newspaper is popular in print.

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In recent years, at least once a semester, a new trend piece emerges to confirm that the hard-copy campus pub is *still* outshining its online counterpart.  (Bryan Murley and I even once enjoyed an international chat about it.)  The latest print-rocks report comes via Poynter Online.  The piece begins with the tried-and-true ironic anecdote of print thriving among the young, mobile, and tech-obsessed:

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Students have returned to college campuses armed with laptops, smart phones and countless other electronic gadgets. Yet most still turn to a print newspaper for their campus news.  The printed versions of college newspapers continue to thrive, with students grabbing copies as they go from one class to another.  It’s not unusual to see students reading about the latest campus news while eating a quick lunch or taking a break on the lawn.

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Why does the print paper reign supreme within higher ed. 2.0?  According to the distinguished mix of people cited by Poynter, the reasons seem to remain the same- its convenience for a grab-and-scan; its relevance to student readers and the unique hyperlocal coverage area it serves; its quality reporting and “fun” content (sex columns, Sudoku puzzles, police blotters, student editorial cartoons, etc.); and its free price tag.

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More innovative web editions and related mobile apps are discussed briefly in the Poynter piece.  They are nice extras or complements, but let’s be honest: In the near future at least, nothing digital will usurp the print paper’s dominance.  Until all students are equipped with iPad-type devices or enjoy accessing the Internet via cafeteria tables and classroom desks, they will continue to be old school in their news reading habits. And the bottom line: Regardless of all the pontificating, the ultimate reason why is magically inexplicable.

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As I first noted in November 2008: College newspapers are just different. In recent semesters, I’ve taken to asking students in my classes the cliched question all of us profs and instructors have asked to show we’re “with it”: How many of you actually regularly read a print newspaper? The answer of course is invariably low to none. Students’ hands, again predictably, raise more passionately when YouTube, PerezHilton, and, among j-students, sites like MediaBistro enter the mix.

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My last question, as a counter to the seeming online-print divide among the young: OK, so how many of you read the student print paper? A majority of hands normally go up. There seems to be some subsequent confusion when I point out that the college newspaper is a print newspaper also, so their initial lack of hand-raising was erroneous. Students don’t seem to have as much of an awareness that reading their college print paper is indulging in the very old media their generation is supposed to be avoiding. As a student said to me last year, “The college paper is just different.”

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BYU Student Newspaper Cuts “Offensive” Prop. 8 Letter

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Journalism Ethics, Student Newspaper on September 13, 2010 | 4 Comments »

A strange self-censorship case is brewing at Brigham Young University. Editors at The Daily Universe, BYU’s campus newspaper, recently removed a letter to the editor from its website seemingly for no other reason than its espousal of views at odds with leaders of the school’s affiliated church.

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As Cynthia Lee writes for By Common Consent, and a separate Religious Dispatches post confirms, BYU pre-med student Cary Crall penned a letter published last week in the Universe explaining the apparent weaknesses of arguments in favor of California’s Proposition 8.  Prop. 8, also called the “Marriage Protection Act,” is strongly supported by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), which owns and operates BYU.

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Crall noted that most of the arguments put forward by the LDS church and other Prop. 8 proponents in the related political campaign were either absent during the recent judicial proceedings or struck down by the ruling judge as irrelevant. In closing, Crall noted:

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It is time for LDS supporters of Prop. 8 to be honest about their reasons for supporting the amendment. It’s not about adoption rights, or the first amendment or tradition. These arguments were not found worthy of the standards for finding facts set up by our judicial system. The real reason is that a man who most of us believe is a prophet of God told us to support the amendment. We must accept this explanation, along with all its consequences for good or ill on our own relationship with God and his children here on earth. Maybe then we will stop thoughtlessly spouting reasons that are offensive to gays and lesbians and indefensible to those not of our faith.

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The Crall letter appeared on the Universe site first thing Tuesday morning.  Hours later it was gone.  The next day, the following statement appeared in its place: “The Daily Universe made an independent decision to remove the student viewpoint titled ‘Defending Proposition 8′ after being alerted by various readers that the content of the editorial was offensive. The publication of this viewpoint was not intended to offend, but after further review we recognized that it contained offensive content. This is consistent with policy that the Daily Universe has, on rare occasions, exercised in the past.”

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My take: Huh?  On the face of it, Crall appears to be the victim of the common censorship practice of post-publication confiscation.  Typically, readers carry out this act by trashing newspapers containing content they do not like.  In this case, it is the papers’ own editors removing content they initially approved- and without a solid explanation for their extremely sudden about-face.

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The especially vague portion of the statement: “[T]he editorial was offensive.”  My follow-up questions: Offensive to who?  Why?  And so what? Commentaries and letters to the editor are meant to provoke reactions, rub people the right or wrong way, initiate action, a larger conversation, a small bit of change in our crazy world.  This letter puts forth a rational argument and displays a solid understanding of the target issue. Daily Universe editors obviously felt it was worthy of public perusal and comment. That’s why they published it.  Then, apparently a flood of criticism poured in and the paper’s editorial independence levees broke.

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The Universe statement called the letter’s removal an “independent decision.” Hmmm.  An one trusted source tells me, “We have every reason to believe that the letter was removed not because of student claims that it was ‘offensive,’ but because of administration pressure.” Of course, that may or may not be the case.  But with such a rash reversal and weak explanation, it is hard not to see darker forces at work here.

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Ultimately, while the Crall letter may be offensive to some Mormons, censoring it is offensive to all journalists. Its removal is also offensive to everyone in the BYU universe who saw the student paper as a safe place to share their views and occasionally even, gasp, disagree.

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Harrisburg University Starts “Social Media Blackout”

Posted in Future of Journalism, Journalism Education, New Media, Story Ideas, Teachable Moment on September 12, 2010 | 1 Comment »

On Monday, beginning at midnight, the IT team at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology will temporarily restrict students, faculty, and staff from accessing Facebook, “its social media kin” such as Twitter, and various wikis via computers connected to the campus network.  According to an Inside Higher Ed report, the intriguing weeklong “social media blackout” is a school-wide experiment “designed to parse how one lives with social media”- and or in this case, how one lives without them.

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HUST students specifically will participate and then write reflective essays on the experience.  There will also be related expert panels and other events throughout the week.

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The Inside Higher Ed piece: “‘It’s not that, as an institution, we hate Facebook,’ says [the school's provost].  Rather, it is about pausing to evaluate the extent to which social media are woven into the professional and personal lives of the people on the Harrisburg campus, and contemplating what has been gained and what has been sacrificed, he says. That colleagues with offices 300 yards apart communicate predominantly via the Web is interesting . . . and merely talking about it does not dig deeply enough. ‘I wanted to make it real for people- not to make it an intellectual exercise,’ he says.”

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Facebook and other social media are dead to HUST students, faculty, and staff this week.

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My take: Does this smell somewhat like a publicity stunt as much as a worthwhile experiment? A tiny bit, yes.  (Let’s be honest, who had heard of HUST prior to this?  In that sense, I offer my kudos- slick PR move.)  Is it as much a symbolic blackout as an impacting one? Yes, definitely, considering the short timeframe and the fact that only computers on the campus network are being restricted.  (Basically, individuals who want to get around the blockade will not have too hard of a time, which is probably how an imposed campus-wide experiment of this type should be.)  Is it a little uncaring toward students and faculty? Yes. The Inside Higher Ed report notes that most HUSTers were not aware of the experiment as of Thursday.  It probably would have been best to give everyone much more notice and a more distant starting date to ensure this does not cause people problems above just inconvenience.

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Overall though, it seems like a valid undertaking- and one that might be worthy of replicating for a student press feature piece or two.  “The Social Network” premiere is in three weeks.  A package of stories on the state of social media seems timely. Have staffers or willing student readers engage in a blackout of their own, and write about it.  I mentioned this idea to one student editor.  His response: “That’s cool, and we can tweet about it while we’re doing it.” Sigh.  #Epic fail.

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Prairie Student Newspaper “Back to Basics,” Back in Print

Posted in College Media, Future of Journalism, Journalism, New Media, Student Newspaper on September 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

After a year in flux, The Prairie, the longtime student weekly at West Texas A&M University, is back in print, in newspaper form.  According to a local television news report, 1,500 copies were distributed earlier this week across campus.  Last year, due to “low funds and trouble finding a publisher,” the paper morphed into a biweekly magazine.

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The news anchor introducing the story described it in the context of the old and new media divide: “As more and more things go digital, West Texas A&M is going back to basics.” Yet, WTAMU is far from alone. The Prairie move is part of a much larger push within collegemediatopia to restart or passionately maintain student pubs’ print editions.  Is it a naive holding-on to the past or a solid investment in the (at least immediate) future- or a bit of both?

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The Prairie‘s adviser cites the following print benefit:”It’s a lot easier for them [students] to pick up a hard copy and read it as they’re walking across campus or skim through it at the lunch table. We think on a college campus it’s going to have some advantages.”

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College Students Become Mini-Moguls While Still in School

Posted in College Media, Future of Journalism, Journalism, Journalism Education, New Media on September 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »

In April 2007, Zephyr Basine arrived at school for her noontime biology seminar- and immediately zoned out. Instead of learning science, the sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst carried out a “fashion-scoping session.” While the professor spoke about organisms and evolution, Basine focused on her fellow students’ outfits and accessories, scouting for something new, chic or trendy.

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Suddenly, mid-lecture, she beheld a sight that made her smile: A bright white shiny patent leather headband, sported by a female classmate two rows in front of her. Her brain raced with possibilities for other students. Should they go with patent, pleather or plastic? Should they rock out the wide or mini size? And should they throw it atop bedraggled bed-head or a dressier updo?

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Zephyr Basine, founder and editor, College Fashion

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In the end, the biology talk didn’t stick. “Science just isn’t my thing,” Basine admitted. But the class was a success from a couture perspective.  Basine has the blog post to prove it.

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The shiny headband treatise was one of the first entries published on College Fashion, a blog Basine began on a whim while a UMass undergraduate. She quickly spun it into a brand name that’s known and followed worldwide.

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College Fashion is a trendsetter.  It’s the first fashion blog by college students for college students. It is also wildly popular, boasting more than one million page views per month.  It has been identified to me by fans from St. Petersburg, Fla., to Singapore simply by its acronym, CF.

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“I’ve never been a person who has felt like school is that important, because I feel like I can learn a lot more in real life,” Basine said. “I would kind of skip class a lot to do my site, but I still managed to do pretty well. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA. So it definitely didn’t ruin my academic standing … but CF definitely became my main hobby. It was my extracurricular activity.”

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Basine is part of a select group of students who have constructed worthwhile new media niches- and become stars- while still in school. Though student entrepreneurs are not new, it seems that more and more of them are taking advantage of the upheaval in the media world to stake their claim.

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Just a few examples: Derek Flanzraich started a web-based satirical news program and online television network, Harvard Undergraduate Television Network, while at Harvard University. Brian Stelter, now a reporter with the New York Times, began TVNewser, the must-read broadcast news industry blog, while at Towson University. Ryan Dunn and Dave Hendricks co-founded College News Network, an online college media content sharing service, while at Ohio University. Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen launched College Humor, the web’s leading comedy site, while at the University of Richmond and Wake Forest University.

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Derek Flanzraich, founder, HUTV

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These pioneers, and the growing number of students following in their stead, are upending the old media establishment. They are also realigning higher education by creating personal media fiefdoms and full-scale organizations without relying upon traditional leg-ups like an internship, a campus newspaper editorial post, an advanced course, a campus work-study or a college degree.

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For example, Wesleyan University junior Peter Frank works more than five hours daily on his student networking site CollegeACB. He still has time for classes, a club sport, and socializing, but, as he told me in May, “[ACB] is my primary collegiate experience.”

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An Imprint Magazine profile the previous May confirmed ACB as his top priority: “Peter Frank is a busy man these days. Three months ago, his company closed a major deal that increased their business and his workload tenfold overnight. Right now, he’s designing a vision, developing new product features, and selling space to advertisers. Afterwards, he’ll take a business call and reply to emails. And once he’s done with that, he still has to study for a Psych final and get dinner before the dining hall closes.”

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For post-millennial student media entrepreneurs like Frank, college is not a way station on the road to success. It is not a farm system for enhancing future professional prospects. It is not a chance to earn credits and bide time for the next step. It is an end- and an education- unto itself.

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To read the rest of this post, check out PBS MediaShift

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Former Adviser Recalls “Making of Real Student Newspaper”

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Journalism Ethics, New Media, Student Newspaper on September 6, 2010 | 1 Comment »

One of my favorite quotes about college journalism comes from New York University professor Jonathan Zimmerman, circa 2003: “The administrators must be annoyed at the student newspaper, or else something is terribly wrong.”

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The idea behind the utterance is not that campus media’s direct aim should be to anger admins.  Instead, Zimmerman is simply identifying the ultimate student press paradox- quality student journalism often involves uncovering info that make university higher-ups more pissed than full of praise.

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Or as Ron Feemster says, “It is unlikely that there is an easy, comfortable place on campus for an empowered student press. Good student journalists, like the ones I advised, will uncover facts that make a college administration squirm. But if a strong press is sometimes a nuisance for administrators, a timid, self-censoring student paper is an educational fraud.”

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Feemster should know.  He spent two years in the uneasy, uncomfortable (but highly rewarding) spot of faculty adviser, overseeing a journalistic call-to-arms at the Northwest Trail, the weekly student newspaper at Wyoming’s Northwest College.  He assisted students on major stories, including a report on seemingly unfair salary increases for certain school employees and the college president’s questionable religious recruiting.  And he saw the dark side of an administration who brought him in to jumpstart student journalism but recoiled at being the focus of some of the students’ work.

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The front page of a January 2010 issue of Northwest Trail announcing the firing of Feemster and the school's student activities director.

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As he recalled in a recent Inside Higher Ed commentary, NWC administrators criticized the paper publicly and via campus whisper campaigns for reporting worthwhile truth.  They hid behind the “convenient smokescreen” of FERPA even when such hiding did not make sense.  They carried out other acts of stonewalling and intimidation when students sought them out for information.  They attacked Feemster and his student team for the smattering of errors that pop up in all student press outlets, attempting to discredit their larger work by highlighting only their infrequent screw-ups.  And they followed a tact I consider to be the most evil in college media circles- equating critical news coverage with disloyalty.

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“The cardinal sin of the Northwest Trail as a student paper was not the fact that it broke big stories,” Feemster wrote.  ”It was the paper’s failure to be ‘positive’ and to ‘support the college.’  I heard this criticism from faculty members, vice presidents, administrative staff and the men’s basketball coach. . . . At Northwest, a critical story was a disloyal story.”

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A Sunday New York Times article reflects on the changing state of journalism, sharing that Web tracking data now allows news outlets to know more specifically than ever what their readers most (and least) enjoy reading.  The new level of insight of course comes with an ethical conundrum: how much influence should reader considerations have over content decisions, compared to outlets’ editorial judgment?

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Under Feemster, the Northwest Trail faced that question at the extremes.  Staffers’ judgments about what to print often made their desired readership seemingly loathe the paper’s very existence.  Feemster’s advice to one editor concerned about this irony: “Our job is to report the best stories we can find as well and fairly as we can. The public’s opinion of the Trail is none of our business.“

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NWC ultimately fired Feemster, but cannot stop him from sharing the truth about “the hide-our-flaws management style so prevalent inside and outside the academy.”

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And his impassioned advising continues to be recognized in many ways.  Most recently, the Associated Collegiate Press named a Northwest Trail staffer a finalist for its Reporter of the Year award, honoring the student’s work over the past two semesters, when Feemster still served as Trail adviser.  Unsurprisingly, the news is not featured alongside similar updates on the NWC homepage.

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