Latest Round in East Carolina Fired Director Fight: Release of Director’s Personnel Records

January 13, 2012 by Dan

It took a bit more than a week.  It hovered around the edges of it over the last few days.  And now it has officially become not just a saga but a full-blown soap opera.  My suggested title: The Fired and the Tactless. 

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The latest bit of news in the continuing story of ousted East Carolina University student media director Paul Isom is a public sparring between Isom and the school over his personnel records.  The school wants to release them to the media to apparently prove his termination was not related to The East Carolinian‘s publication of the controversial streaker photos months before.  ECU needs Isom’s permission to unseal those records for public disclosure.

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Isom has expressed his anger, however, that the school has apparently told the media it wants to release the records without ever talking to him about it privately.  As he told The News & Observer, “If they have an explanation to provide to the rest of the world, show it to me first.  I’ll decide whether or not I’ll waive my rights after I see their explanation. . . . This is an insulting way to treat a member of the ECU community.”

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Related

East Carolina Fired Director-Streaker Saga Update: A School Statement and a CMA Inquiry

East Carolina Journalism Faculty, FIRE, SPLC Rally Around Ousted Student Media Director

Former East Carolina Student Media Director Considers Lawsuit, Other Options to Contest Firing

Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Brigham Young University’s Daily Universe Going from Daily to Weekly in Print

January 13, 2012 by Dan

In what has to be regarded as huge news within collegemediatopia, The Daily Universe at Brigham Young University will begin publishing its print edition weekly by the end of April “[a]fter decades of daily publication.”

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In the immediate sense, it means a quick shift to a “digital-first news lab format” and, sadly, impending layoffs for eight professional staff who help the paper.  (Fewer professional staff positions requiring different skills will be created to support the students during the new venture.)

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As BYU’s student media associate chairwoman tells Utah’s Daily Herald (hat tip Romenesko), “The plan was developed and voted on by all of the journalism faculty and staff.  This new digital-first format will include texts, images, audio, video, mobile and tablet app formats, and we will continue to explore other news applications.”

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According to a Daily Universe report, the switch was motivated by financials (specifically a sustained ad revenue drop for the print edition in recent years) and a desire to modernize the curriculum and ensure students are learning skills needed in the current professional field.

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The Universe is the second more prominent paper to announce a shift from weekly to daily printing this academic year.  The Red & Black at the University of Georgia made a similar move this past fall.

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Posted in College Media, Future of Journalism, Journalism, New Media, Student Newspaper | 1 Comment »

Daily Kent Stater Report on Potential Donor’s Financially Shady Past Earns National Buzz

January 12, 2012 by Dan

Doug Brown, the enterprise reporter for The Daily Kent Stater at Kent State University, is the most famous student journalist so far in 2012.  He recently reported on the past legal troubles of alumnus Jason Cope, who was preparing to donate $1 million to the KSU athletics program and have the school’s basketball court named after him.  A bit more than a decade ago, as branch manager of a financial firm, Cope had been part of a scheme that defrauded investors out of close to $9 million.

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Brown’s digging into this criminal activity prompted Cope to suddenly renege on the donation and of course led to questions about the school’s decision to accept money from someone indicted on such nefarious charges.  As a DSK editorial contends, “We’re wondering why Kent State would knowingly accept money from someone with a disconcerting financial background.  At first glance, it makes us question the athletic department’s ethical standards. Sure, the university can accept the money, but should it? It doesn’t quite seem right.”

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In recent days, the story has gone B-list viral.  Brown has been deservedly lauded by Romenesko, the SPLC, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Ohio outlets including The Akron Beacon Journal and The Cleveland Plain Dealer for a job well done.

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Posted in College Media, Journalism, New Media, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Awake at 1:11 a.m.? Read The Columbia Daily Spectator

January 12, 2012 by Dan

The One Eleven, part of The Columbia Daily Spectator‘s “Spectrum” blog network, is built atop students’ penchants for being awake at all hours and forever web browsing to avoid schoolwork.  Each morning, at exactly 1:11 a.m., overseer Stephen Snowder provides a recap of the world in quick bits, sometimes serious and sometimes wacky.  It appears to exist as the sarcastic younger brother of College Daybreak, a daily email breaking down world events in similarly easy-to-digest chunks.

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Snowder explains the blog’s existence at the beginning of each post, noting simply, “It’s late.  You’re up.”

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Student Press Story Headlines That Make Me Giggle #4

January 12, 2012 by Dan

The winner of today’s edition of this lighthearted all-in-good-fun giggly headline feature serves up an important reminder about an action we will all carry out a few gazillion times before death.  A mid-December piece in The Daily Campus at UCONN that I recently discovered tells readers, simply, “Breathe In and Breathe Out.“  Repeating the activity after you’ve done it once seems to be implied. :)  (As the sub-hed and subsequent article reveal, the angle being hinted at in the hed is student stress reduction.)

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The runner-up earns kudos for catching my eye in an RSS feed list of otherwise dry headers.  The four-word headline atop a new Duke Chronicle story demands, earnestly, “Pay attention to me.“  At first, seeing only the hed, I thought I was clicking on an article about flashy web ads or a student rant on sensationalist media.  But it actually tops a well-written treatise on the so-called “middle child syndrome.”

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Finally, see if you can spot the snafu in the sub-hed below.

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Crimson White Special Edition Commemorates Alabama’s National Championship (#RollTide)

January 12, 2012 by Dan

The Crimson White published a special 20-page edition yesterday commemorating the University of Alabama’s historic 14th national college football championship.

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The standout write-up in the issue– and the first championship piece featured on the CW’s website after the game concluded: “Zero Hesitation,” a rundown of how little outsiders had believed in the Tide a few months back and how big the team played when the moment mattered.

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As it began, “Zero.  This word now has a special meaning for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many believed the Tide had zero chance to make the BCS National Championship game after its loss to LSU on Nov. 5.  Those same people pointed to the number of touchdowns scored between the two teams in their last meeting. However, when the clock struck zero, the only zero that mattered for the Tide was the one beside LSU on the scoreboard as the Tide shut out the Tigers 21-0.”

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A separate Flickr photo series captures tons of moments from the ultimately lopsided UA victory.

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In an email, CW editor-in-chief Victor Luckerson also singled out a reaction video captured by Daniel Roth displaying the celebratory mood of UA fans watching from The Rusty Nail in New Orleans.

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Posted in College Media, Journalism, New Media, Student Newspaper | 1 Comment »

Student Press Story Headlines That Make Me Giggle #3

January 11, 2012 by Dan

Let’s be honest.  Given Rick Santorum’s recent out-of-nowhere (and ultimately temporary) emergence as a top-tier 2012 GOP presidential candidate, a sudden surge of student press puns mocking his well-known sexual conservatism were inevitable.  One headline seemingly fashioned for that purpose appeared just after the Iowa Caucus on KentWired.com, the freakin’ fantastic one-stop Kent State University student media hub.  As the header for an opinion piece on the former Pennsylvania senator notes simply, “Santorum likes to be on top.”

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And yes, the well-written piece does include a shout-out to the, ahem, sexualization of Mr. Santorum’s name online (for the uninitiated, look it up if you dare), so my vote is that the writer and eds. knew exactly what they were doing with the headline.  Happy Wednesday! :)

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For a more serious look at The Daily Kent Stater‘s investigative journalism prowess, click here.
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Also Related:

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

West Virginia University Journalism Students Can Now Earn Extra ‘Certificate of Digital Proficiency’

January 11, 2012 by Dan

As The Daily Athenaeum reports, the School of Journalism at West Virginia University has begun offering an extra Certificate of Digital Proficiency to go along with its main degree programs.  The Certificate will be granted to students who complete a set of courses specifically targeted to “skills in interactive journalism, video editing, blogging and design software.”  A glimpse at the course offerings confirms it involves a sampling or two from most of those listed areas.

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My honest first response, without any cynicism or sarcasm: The Certificate strikes me as extraneous in the age of Journalism 3.0.  I guess it’s one more polish on a student CV.  But seriously, if a student is earning a journalism degree without taking classes covering those skills, I would seriously question that school’s program.  Being a journalism graduate today should confirm you have had some experience with digital platforms and storytelling processes.  You should not need an extra certificate with the word digital in it to prove it.

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Journalism Education, New Media | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

East Carolina Fired Director-Streaker Saga Update: A School Statement and a CMA Inquiry (@FrankLoMonte)

January 11, 2012 by Dan

In response to media requests and letters of concern sent by advocacy organizations including FIRE and the SPLC, East Carolina University has released a statement about the sudden firing of student media director Paul Isom.  Isom was let go without warning or explanation last week, prompting speculation it was related to the The East Carolinian‘s infamous ‘streaker’ photo published last November on its front page.

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A portion of the statement is below.  For the full letter, click here or on the screenshot.

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SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte respectfully characterized the statement as a “non-denial denial.”

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In other news, the College Media Association (CMA) is launching an official inquiry into Isom’s termination.   As an announcement on its homepage confirms, “The chair of CMA’s Advocacy Committee, Kate McCarty, is leading the inquiry, which also includes an offer to help mediate any possible resolution of the issue and help redraft university policies.  CMA members and its board have expressed concern at the university’s lack of an explanation for suddenly firing Isom and fear that the action is in retaliation for content published in the student newspaper.”

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Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism | 1 Comment »

Washington Post: University of Maryland Building ‘On-Campus Mansion’ for President (@wpjenna)

January 11, 2012 by Dan

In a new Washington Post report, higher education guru Jenna Johnson reveals that the University of Maryland plans to erect an “on-campus mansion” for its president totaling $7.2 million.

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As Johnson confirms near the start of the piece, “[S]ome question why the school would build such an elaborate house at a time when the flagship university is asking donors to support students who might drop out because they can’t afford tuition. And construction will begin just weeks after President Wallace D. Loh announced that he will cut eight varsity sports teams in June to save an estimated $29 million over the next eight years.”

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As Johnson also wrote in the main piece and a follow-up blog post, supporters contend that presidential homes of such largesse are often used as gathering points for university events and status symbols aiding a school’s reputation and bringing in donations.

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Bottom line: How’s your president living these days?

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Questions for a Related Report

Where does your school’s president live?  If university-owned, how much did the house cost to either buy or build?  How was it paid for?  Who made the purchasing decision?  What is the cost of upkeep?  What are the features of the house?  Any house-related perks in the president’s contract– such as free landscaping, cleaning, an extra security system, wireless Internet, etc.  How often is it used to entertain guests on behalf of the university, officially and unofficially?  What are the costs of those events, and how are they managed?

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Multimedia Options

1) A photo slideshow or video tour of the house, if possible.  2) A webpage sporting click-through visuals and mini-profiles of every individual invited to the house for official functions during the past academic year, if such records exist.  3) A photo time-capsule run-through of previous presidential houses, changes to the house or compare-contrasts between your president’s house and the houses of other presidents at schools within your sports conference or city.

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Offbeat Options

1) Profile the groundskeepers or landscapers who take care of the land on which the house is situated or a caterer who works the house during special events.  2) Drive by the house near Halloween, Christmas, and the Fourth of July.  Any decorations?  (Or maybe too much?) :)

Posted in College Media, Journalism, Story Ideas, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Library Fines at UK’s Leeds University Total More than $2.7 Million! (@Leeds_Student)

January 10, 2012 by Dan

A new report in The Leeds Student at Leeds University in the UK delves into the apparently profitable world of library fines.

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As it begins, “In the last six academic years, a staggering £1.8m has been raked in. . . . With fines as little as 10p a day per book, it seems that students are returning thousands of books late each year. But many are never returned– more than 300,000 books nationally are unaccounted for.”

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OK, now read the opening part again.  Truly.  Think about the amount it mentions.  According to XE Currency Converter, that equates to $2.78 million.  In library fines.  At one school.  In only six years.

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Bottom line: It’s time to hit the library.

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Questions for a Related Report

How much money does your school net from library fines?  Where does the money go?  How much have fine amounts increased over the years, and how are those types of decisions made?  What are the most exorbitant charges that students have racked up from overdue books?  How many books are checked out each year?  Which books are most often taken out, and returned late?  And how many books are simply never returned, and what is the process for deciding whether to replace them?

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Multimedia Options

1) Spend some time photographing or video recording the library clerks at work, zooming in on their dealings with students paying fines or returning books late.  2) Create an interactive click-through graphic breaking down the fine process, the money it brings in, and what the money is used for.

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Offbeat Option

Tell the story of a single book that is particularly prone to late renewals or returns.  Find out when and how the library first purchased it and how it was cataloged and stocked.  See if you can track down some of the students who most recently checked it out to get their takes on what they used it for, why they may have been lax in getting it back on time, and whether the extra time was worth the fine.  Also speak with library staffers, framing their perspectives on that single book within a wider-lens glimpse at why students return books late, the most common ways students try to get out of paying fines, and what ultimately sways staffers to waive fines.

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Posted in College Media, Journalism, Story Ideas, Student Newspaper | Leave a Comment »

Student Press Story Headlines That Made Me Giggle #2

January 10, 2012 by Dan

Like yesterday’s premiere post about naked Santas on the run, the winner of the second edition of this giggly headline feature also involves public clothes shedding. As the header to a new State Press report at Arizona State University reads, “Pantless passengers board light rail in their underwear.“

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On a personal note, I stumbled upon this story while surfing with very shaky Internet, meaning the accompanying photo slowly, slowly uploaded, top to bottom.  Midway through, I actually began to get a tiny bit nervous at what I was about to see. :)  Please click on the screenshot below and check out the piece.  Interesting read!

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Posted in College Media, Journalism, Student Newspaper | 2 Comments »

East Carolina Journalism Faculty, FIRE, SPLC Rally Around Ousted Student Media Director

January 10, 2012 by Dan

The sudden termination of East Carolina University student media director Paul Isom has been met with seemingly universal disapproval from the journalism community and advocates involved in First Amendment organizations.  As I have previously posted, Isom’s unexplained firing last week has prompted speculation that it was related to the The East Carolinian‘s infamous ‘streaker’ photo published last November on its front page.

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Yesterday, the Student Press Law Center sent a public letter to ECU’s chancellor and its board of trustees chairman.  Executive Director Frank LoMonte noted SPLC’s deep concern with what it considers a “personnel decision . . . [that] carries profound implications for the overall climate for free expression on campus, and in particular for the willingness of student journalists to publish material that provokes strong public reaction, as journalists must.”

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As the letter goes on to mention, “It is neither legally supportable nor educationally sound to punish a college media adviser for the lawful editorial judgments of the students he advises.”  Its strongest point comes near the close: “Whatever fleeting and minimal impact the newspaper photos had on the university’s image has been worsened a thousand-fold by the decision to remove Mr. Isom without an outwardly apparent lawful justification.”

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Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), agrees with the latter sentiment, noting, “We hope that ECU makes the right decision and understands that while having a streaker run across the football field might be embarrassing to see in the newspaper, it’s certainly far more embarrassing to be caught violating the First Amendment.”

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Prior to SPLC’s missive, FIRE sent its own letter of rebuke to ECU’s chancellor, stating at one point, “ECU would do well to remember, even at this late stage, that the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression does not exist to protect only non-controversial speech; indeed, it exists precisely to protect expression that some members of a community may find controversial or offensive. . . . ECU has both a legal and a moral obligation to respect the freedom of expression rights enjoyed by its students. Please spare East Carolina University the embarrassment of fighting against the Bill of Rights.”

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As expected, according to a local television news report, Isom’s removal has been “the talk of the journalism department” at ECU.  At least one ECU j-prof has spoken out, telling the news station, “Being a personnel decision, I don’t know everything that went into it, but it certainly seems aimed at intimidation, punishment over the streaker photos and maybe other things that have been in the student newspaper. . . . I think it is an unfortunate situation.”

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Posted in College Media, Free Press Fights, Journalism, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

‘Journalism Plus’ Program Officially Kicks Off at University of Colorado

January 10, 2012 by Dan

The controversial ‘journalism plus’ program at the University of Colorado is officially launching at the start of the school’s spring semester.  According to an announcement on a university-controlled site, more than 45 students are enrolled in the program.

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In spring 2011, as many in the journalism community are aware, the Board of Regents at CU voted to close the university’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication based upon the recommendation of an outside advisory board.  The vote officially ended a long discontinuance process that has been viewed by some as a harbinger of dark days ahead for journalism education nationwide.

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The program installed in the school’s place, supporters say, increases j-students’ focus on an additional academic area (almost like adding a second major).  The gist: enabling students to graduate with both journalism skills and knowledge of a particular portion of the world journalism covers.

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My take: While the idea at heart seems sound and is being adopted in various forms within many j-programs worldwide, there is absolutely no reason it requires the closure of an entire school and the shake-up of a quality faculty base.  Work this into the existing J&MC curriculum!  Offer it as an option or track for interested students!

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It is also hard to believe CU still cares about creating “better journalists, better news content and, over time, a more informed society” given that its first major program decision was installing a French and Italian professor without any discernible journalism experience as director.  I am sure he is a perfectly nice guy, accomplished in his fields.  But how is he qualified to run a journalism program?  My advice: Put him in charge of the ‘Plus’ part.  Get a j-prof to lead the Journalism portion.

Posted in Free Press Fights, Journalism, Journalism Education | Leave a Comment »

Student Press Stories I Love: The Pain, Pleasure and Rising Popularity of Body Modification (@RedandBlack)

January 9, 2012 by Dan

A new report in The Red & Black at the University of Georgia highlights a growing movement among students and others that makes ear piercing and the basic forearm tattoo look like child’s play.  Real body modification circa 2012 is built around students who “test the waters and push the envelope.”  As one student told Red & Black staffer Randy Schafer, “I found that it was not only a way to express myself, but it’s also technology in my body.“

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This type of physical alteration first crossed my path last spring, when a pair of students in my reporting classes in quick succession churned out pieces on body scarification and body suspension– the latter resulting in a pick-up by UPI.

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As Schafer’s feature on similar modifications begins, “Metal and flesh are in harmony– at times.  With body modification, a simple prick, slash or burn can be used to ornament or manipulate the body.  Some do it for pain. Others for pleasure.  And others are just curious.”

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Posted in College Media, Journalism, Story Ideas, Student Newspaper | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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