Freedom of the press is one of the most valued rights protected under the United States Constitution. Among other things, the constitution’s First Amendment bars creation of any law limiting freedom of speech, or of the press.
American colleges and universities have a long history of producing journalists for the country’s news media. And many of them get their start by working at their college’s student newspaper.
These student reporters write about many subjects, from school sports to local events. But a new report suggests that some newspapers publishing stories critical of their colleges are under attack.
Who or what is threatening these publications? The report claims school administrators are to blame.
The report, “Threats to the Independence of Student Media,” is a joint project of four groups: the American Association of University Professors, the College Media Association, the National Coalition against Censorship, and the Student Press Law Center.
All four organizations say they support academic freedom in higher education.
Released in December, their report lists actions that college and university administrators have taken because of critical stories in student newspapers.
For example, the University of Kansas reduced financial support for its student newspaper after the student government voted to do so in April 2015.
The paper’s student editors then took a university administrator to court. They claimed the vote was retaliation for a 2014 story critical of the student government election process. Finally, the student government agreed to give the newspaper its full funding.
The report also lists actions taken against advisors to student-operated newspapers.
In the U.S., almost every student newspaper has an individual with journalism experience guiding the reporters. Cheryl Reed was one example.
Northern Michigan University (NMU) asked Reed to serve as its student media advisor for the school’s newspaper, "The North Wind," in 2014. The university also made her a professor of investigative journalism because she has years of experience in the field.
However, it was not long before Reed and her student journalists began to experience problems. In fall 2014, school officials decided to close a popular, independent coffee shop on campus. The school then replaced it with a Starbucks owned by a former NMU student.
The newspaper began to investigate the issue and requested copies of the Starbucks contract. The school first refused before eventually agreeing. Next, the paper requested copies of emails between administrators discussing the activities of "The North Wind." As NMU is a public university, these emails were public record. However, the school tried to charge the newspaper for use of the information.
At this point, the publication board that governs the newspaper became involved. The board’s members voted against paying for the emails. The student journalists then went to social media. The attention that followed led to the school releasing the documents free of charge.
But the problems did not end there. The newspaper published several stories critical of Northern Michigan University. This included reports about sexual assault and payments for travel costs made to one of the school’s trustees.
Then, in April 2015, the newspaper board, made up of students, NMU officials, teachers and community members, voted to remove Reed as the advisor. She and a student editor then took four of the board’s student members and an NMU representative to court. They argued the board violated their free-speech rights because of the critical stories.
During the court case, one student board member made a sworn statement against NMU. She said the board’s administrative representative met with her individually. She said this meeting was designed to persuade her to vote against paying for access to the emails. She also believed the representative influenced other students so they would vote to remove Reed. Yet, the judge decided there was no violation of constitutional rights.
Reed has since left NMU for personal reasons. Also, she fears that many administrators are more concerned with the school’s image than education.
Administrators see colleges more and more as a business, and that in itself is a threat to student journalism, she says.
"There’s this conflict between how administrators want to sell their campuses … and how student journalists see their role in all of this in terms of their trying to report about their campus from a journalistic means," Reed said. "And that means … How does the campus do business? … How safe are these campuses? … These are all major issues for students. And that’s what the journalists are trying to do, cover them in a way that is responsible but also as any journalist would."
Derek Hall, assistant vice president of communications at NMU, denies the board’s action was retaliation or that the administration has power over them. He says the board made its decision for several reasons. This includes concerns about the accuracy of some stories in the newspaper.
Topic: United States College Newspapers Assailed for Negative Stories (Read 1281 times)
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August 14, 2019, 06:31:06 AM