2008 Woodie Awards
Preserve student press
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Opinions
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(U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.C. -- This past week, the editor of the Daily Trojan, the student newspaper at the University of Southern California, resigned amid controversy.
Senior Zach Fox had just been reelected by his fellow staff members when the USC administration, namely the board that oversees all student media outlets, announced that it would not endorse Fox's leadership -- in fact, it would block it.
The powers that be cited a dispute about "drastic revisions" Fox wanted to make to the role of editor as the reason they rejected his application; Fox said the university also denied him the opportunity to review the newspaper's budget.
Whatever the case, Fox effectively was out.
The editorial board does not have enough information about the USC situation to pass full judgment on these pages. We know little about what sorts of revisions Fox wanted to make to his job, and virtually nothing about the conversations -- if any -- that occurred between him and the USC administration.
What we do know is that the scenario at USC points to a broader and more frightening trend in student journalism -- undue university control over student newspapers that can translate into censorship of management and, in some cases, content.
The Chronicle does not have ties to Duke. Since 1993, it has been a part of an independent company, the Duke Student Publishing Company, that operates without the University's oversight or financial support. As such, this newspaper is not in the same position as that of The Daily Trojan and numerous other publications across the country that are controlled by their respective home institutions.
And in an ideal world, all college newspapers would be so independent. Their staffs would not need to worry about "what the university will think" when they make decisions; indeed, they would not even have the thought in their minds. As such, we encourage any and all college newspapers that are not independent to do so; if you have the means, take the step.
Senior Zach Fox had just been reelected by his fellow staff members when the USC administration, namely the board that oversees all student media outlets, announced that it would not endorse Fox's leadership -- in fact, it would block it.
The powers that be cited a dispute about "drastic revisions" Fox wanted to make to the role of editor as the reason they rejected his application; Fox said the university also denied him the opportunity to review the newspaper's budget.
Whatever the case, Fox effectively was out.
The editorial board does not have enough information about the USC situation to pass full judgment on these pages. We know little about what sorts of revisions Fox wanted to make to his job, and virtually nothing about the conversations -- if any -- that occurred between him and the USC administration.
What we do know is that the scenario at USC points to a broader and more frightening trend in student journalism -- undue university control over student newspapers that can translate into censorship of management and, in some cases, content.
The Chronicle does not have ties to Duke. Since 1993, it has been a part of an independent company, the Duke Student Publishing Company, that operates without the University's oversight or financial support. As such, this newspaper is not in the same position as that of The Daily Trojan and numerous other publications across the country that are controlled by their respective home institutions.
And in an ideal world, all college newspapers would be so independent. Their staffs would not need to worry about "what the university will think" when they make decisions; indeed, they would not even have the thought in their minds. As such, we encourage any and all college newspapers that are not independent to do so; if you have the means, take the step.
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