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In November, the Emerald recruited Steven A. Smith, Emerald alum and former editor in chief of The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Wash., to work as a consultant and draft a strategic plan for the future of the Emerald. In Smith’s strategic plan, he recommended hiring a publisher with a five-year contract to replace the current general manager position. Smith wrote a loose job description for the publisher position, including its responsibilities. As described in Smith’s proposal, the publisher would have supervisory control over the student editor, which the general manager does not have. This poses an obvious threat to student control and editorial independence that is key to the service we provide/Ashley Chase & Allie Grasgree, Editor in chief & managing editor of University of Oregon Daily Emerald. More here.
Question: Should student newspapers at colleges and universities be autonomous?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Sam on March 04 at 11:03 a.m.
To your question: 100% absolutely yes.
Beez on March 04 at 11:58 a.m.
Wow. That’s some thread over on Steve Smith’s blog. Check it out.
As a former adviser to the Argonaut, I think I have enough perspective on the matter to say that autonomy is a precious thing for student newspapers and should be preserved at all costs, even a periolous economy.
Installing former professional journalists as the GM or publisher or whatever title they chose to give themselves does not ensure that the quality of the publication or the learning experience it provides will improve by that osmosis.
Sounds like Smith meant well, but he also had the ulterior motive of looking for gainful employment and the two collided like an atom smasher.
Fishwife on March 04 at 12:17 p.m.
“The editors felt that the Emerald cannot afford the salary Smith proposed, and were extremely concerned that allowing Smith to work as an adjunct instructor at the journalism school while serving as publisher was an obvious conflict of interest, for multiple reasons.”
How many jobs has Steve Smith had in the past..say..10 years? Does controversy follow this fellow or what? Good gracious. Seems Smith had no hesitation siccing his dogs on public figures. The worm turns, doesn’t it? BTW is the journalism school a public or private one?
cantyoureadthesigns on March 04 at 12:45 p.m.
Whoa, ugly.
Some of those commenters on Smith’s site were pushing the free speech “guidelines” that Wayne Hoffman proffered…
The students make a good argument about the lack of transparency and stakeholder involvement in the process the Board followed.
Sam on March 04 at 2:12 p.m.
Beez’s comment above is exactly it. I had the pleasure of working at The Argonaut when Beez was the adviser as well as the next adviser, and both knew what it meant to be the professional who worked with students.
I just can’t for the life of me think why the board thinks a student newspaper needs to be controlled by a professional journalist. A student newspaper is a learning environment where the students teach themselves and learn from their mistakes. They get sage wisdom from their adviser, but that adviser should have no control over editorial decisions.