2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: Student press free as any
Issue date: 12/6/06 Section: Editorial
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One week ago, an administrator at the University of Southern California (USC) blocked the re-election of Zach Fox to the post of editor in chief of the Daily Trojan, the campus' student daily newspaper. As college journalists, we are deeply troubled by this decision. Practicing journalism with strings attached isn't really practicing journalism at all, and to that end, we seek to preserve the tradition of a functionally-and whenever possible, formally-independent collegiate press. Campus newspapers must be more than public relations arms of universities in order to succeed in informing readers.
Fox was re-elected by the staff of the Daily Trojan behind a vision which called for more financial transparency and a reorganization of the paper's senior editor positions. Yet, his election required the approval of USC's Media Board, a body of students, faculty members, and administrators that oversees the school's student-run media operations. USC Vice President of Student Affairs Michael L. Jackson, a member of this board, decided not even to present Fox to the board, describing Fox's vision as irreconcilable with the Media Board's outline for the role. Fox, who had been serving as the editor this fall, resigned from his post in protest of the decision and threw his support behind the Daily Trojan's editorial director, Jeremy Beecher, who handily won a subsequent vote on Friday and was approved by the Media Board Monday.
Earlier this semester, Fox repeatedly approached the board requesting information about the budget and finances of the paper. Given that access to financial information is a standard operating procedure for nearly all of our nation's college papers-independent or not-this move denies USC's student journalists a holistic view of an industry that is facing major changes. Although the administration has commissioned a task force to investigate Fox's proposals, its reticence toward financial transparency creates an appearance of impropriety and leaves open questions as to whether Fox was denied his post in retaliation for his probing questions.
Fox was re-elected by the staff of the Daily Trojan behind a vision which called for more financial transparency and a reorganization of the paper's senior editor positions. Yet, his election required the approval of USC's Media Board, a body of students, faculty members, and administrators that oversees the school's student-run media operations. USC Vice President of Student Affairs Michael L. Jackson, a member of this board, decided not even to present Fox to the board, describing Fox's vision as irreconcilable with the Media Board's outline for the role. Fox, who had been serving as the editor this fall, resigned from his post in protest of the decision and threw his support behind the Daily Trojan's editorial director, Jeremy Beecher, who handily won a subsequent vote on Friday and was approved by the Media Board Monday.
Earlier this semester, Fox repeatedly approached the board requesting information about the budget and finances of the paper. Given that access to financial information is a standard operating procedure for nearly all of our nation's college papers-independent or not-this move denies USC's student journalists a holistic view of an industry that is facing major changes. Although the administration has commissioned a task force to investigate Fox's proposals, its reticence toward financial transparency creates an appearance of impropriety and leaves open questions as to whether Fox was denied his post in retaliation for his probing questions.
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