|
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get e-mails or phone calls
asking, “Do you think you could get this in
El Vaquero?” or “Would you be
interested in this story idea for the paper?” or,
thankfully less frequently, “Why did you say those terrible things about
us in the paper?”
As adviser to the paper and the sole full-time
journalism professor, I am gratified to know that
El Vaquero is widely read and
that readers want to share their announcements and stories with us. What
I tell the callers or e-mailers is that I will pass their queries on to
the editor. That’s all I can do.
Questions about the role of the college
newspaper and my function as adviser have come into play over the past
few months, and I’m writing this to try to make clearer to the campus
how El Vaquero operates.
College newspapers are unique in that they are
both a service to readers and a teaching tool. While working on the
paper, students learn reporting, editing, writing and photo skills that
they may ultimately take into the working world.
It is this dual function that creates a
conundrum for many within the college community. The instructor is the
final authority in journalism classes, but the students have the sole
responsibility for the content of the paper. The adviser/instructor may
give advice, but never interferes with the assigning, writing and
publication of stories.
The student editor decides what ends up in
print. The paper’s current editor-in-chief, Olga Ramaz, has been in the
journalism program for nearly two years. Like all past editors, she has
worked her way up through the ranks, first taking the prerequisite
beginning news writing class, then serving as reporter, entertainment
writer and entertainment editor. Miss Ramaz proved to be one of the
hardest working and most painstaking students I have worked with. She loves journalism
and has impeccably high standards.
During a typical meeting of the newspaper
class I lecture for about half the time, then the editor takes over. She
introduces ideas for stories, and each of the staff members is also
expected to bring ideas to the table. Most of them have specialized
beats in which they become experts. When the editor assigns a story, the
reporter/writer is given a deadline in which to report it and is also
teamed with a photographer.
As adviser I follow the discussions in the
meetings and sometimes make suggestions about how best to cover a story
or who to interview. These are merely suggestions.
I also frequently discuss ethical and legal
issues affecting journalists. Libel, or defamation of character, is one
of the most serious legal issues facing journalists. Libel means the
publication of untruths which tend to defame a person. Truth cannot be
libelous. I persistently emphasize that writers
must always get the facts right and, if possible, verify them from
multiple sources.
For example: I wouldn’t tell editors or reporters that they shouldn’t report on
the drunk driving arrest of a faculty member or administrator. But I
would caution them to make certain that he or she was actually arrested
for the crime. This could be verified only by a police report. A
second-hand report would never do.
We also spend a great deal of time talking
about conflict of interest and the many ways that such a conflict might
taint a journalist’s work. Responsible journalists, we insist, never cover
stories in which they might be personally involved.
As adviser,
one of my chief responsibilities is to steer students away from
shark-infested waters. While I wouldn’t tell them not to cover a story,
I make clear that it is important to report fairly and within legal
bounds.
Sometimes student reporters, like reporters in
the professional world, make mistakes. They don’t get the story quite
right. Or they miss getting to that one best source that would make for
a more balanced story. Or they somehow miss the bigger picture. This is
often due to the tyranny of deadlines. But without deadlines, there
would be no news.
After every issue of the paper we go through a
rigorous critiquing process, and when things go wrong we look for ways
to ensure that we will do better next time. Journalists, like other
serious people, learn from their mistakes.
So, in my role as adviser, I try to teach the
staff what I’ve learned as a professional journalist and over the seven
years I have taught journalism. I act as a sounding board, and I let
them know when I think they have gone wrong.
Otherwise, I don’t interfere.
Our professional organization, College Media
Advisers, states that “the ultimate goal of the student media adviser is to mold, preserve and protect an
ethical and educational environment in which excellent communication skills and sound journalistic practice will be learned and practiced
by students.” This is what I strive to do.
The code also states that faculty have an
“obligation to defend and teach without censoring, editing, directing or producing.” This is an obligation I take seriously.
At no time will a faculty adviser dictate what
runs or doesn’t run in the paper. Nor do administrators decide what
stories will or won’t run. This was codified into law by a bill passed
by Governor Schwarzenegger in August, AB2581, which prohibits censorship
of college media. This bill was authored by Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San
Francisco, in response to a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
decision called Hosty v. Carter,
which seemed to assert that administrators could control the content of
college papers.
Yee said, after the signing of his bill,
“College journalists deserve the same protections as any other journalist. Having true freedom of the press is
essential on college campuses and it is a fundamental part of a young
journalist’s training for the real world. Allowing a school
administration to censor is contrary to the democratic process and the
ability of a student newspaper to serve as the watchdog and bring
sunshine to the actions of school administrators.”
“This law sends a very strong message to administrators that the student press is
just as deserving of strong free protection as professional media,” said
Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, a supporter of the bill.
With freedoms come responsibility, and the
bill increases editorial staff responsibility and liability for reckless
reporting. This ruling places responsibility more squarely on the
shoulders of the student journalists.
Another bill that the governor signed in
September, AB2612, applies directly to recent incidents involving
El Vaquero. In June more than
2,000 newspapers were stolen from the news racks on campus. This theft
cost the paper several hundred dollars in printing costs and lost
advertising revenue. But when the editor reported the theft to the
campus police, an officer asked, “How can you steal something that is
free?”
AB2612, the Newspaper Theft bill, answers that
question. Now part of Section 1: 19.8 of the Penal Code, the law states
that it is a crime “to take more than 25 copies of the current issue of
a free or complimentary newspaper…” There is a $250 fine for the first
violation with subsequent infractions
possibly leading to jail time. This is an important new law that applies
to school newspapers as well as free papers like the
LA Weekly.
Both of these
laws addressed problems that
needed remedying, and both affirm the importance of a free press—and
particularly a free student press.
El Vaquero
takes that freedom and the responsibility that goes with it very
seriously.
&
back
to top |