Ball State Newspaper’s Student Government Endorsement Raises Hackles, Ethical Questions
The Ball State Daily News at Ball State University is currently embroiled in a situation its editor-in-chief Andrew Mishler confirms “gives a good look at the ethical side of endorsements by student newspapers and what kind of controversy it can cause.”
5 Things College Students Want to Get Rid Of: Uncaring Profs, Rap, Exercise, February & Not Enjoying Your 20s
What would the world be better off without? In separate articles and op-eds appearing recently within collegemediatopia, students have offered a bevy of suggestions on “unnecessary traditions, ideas, and institutions” that should be scrapped or significantly changed. – Taken together, they represent a massive de-cluttering worthy of a similar feature published in The Washington Post. The Post’s annual [...]
Tattoo Tuesday: Syracuse Daily Orange Features ‘Most Intriguing, Inspiring Stories Behind One’s Art’
The latest edition of “Tattoo Tuesday” premiered today in The Daily Orange. The weekly column in the Syracuse University student newspaper aims to ferret out, photograph, and share “some of the most intriguing and inspiring stories behind one’s art.” It is part of a larger push within the paper’s Pulp section to publish diverse, reader-friendly features.
120 Years Old, 120-Point Font: Quick Tales from 2 Student Newspapers (Daily Tar Heel, Indiana Daily Student)
The Daily Tar Heel is 120 years old. The vaunted student newspaper at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill celebrated the milestone late last week with cake, a special wraparound atop its regular issue, a video report– and a staff grave reading. – The latter took place at the tombstone of longtime broadcast journalist [...]
300 Daily Texan Alumni Criticize Media Board’s Response to Paper’s ‘Life-or-Death Financial Troubles’
Roughly 300 former staffers of The Daily Texan at the University of Texas at Austin have digitally signed an open letter criticizing the Texan’s overseeing board for its handling of the paper’s “life-or-death financial troubles.” The Texan alumni are especially concerned about the possible elimination of the pub’s daily print edition, calling that pending decision “reactionary, short-sighted, and ill-advised.”
Hazelwood’s Devastating Impact on Student Journalism: An Exclusive Interview with SPLC’s Frank LoMonte
Devastation. According to Student Press Law Center Executive Director Frank LoMonte, the impact of the Hazelwood ruling on student journalism in this country has been nothing short of sheer devastation. In a recent interview timed to coincide with the milestone anniversaries, LoMonte provided eight basic truths about Hazelwood’s continued visible and invisible impact and how the ruling can be neutralized.
Snow Day Be Damned: Daily Kansan Staff Hard at Work Amid Storm
There is a snowstorm brewing in Lawrence, Kan., one rough enough to cancel Thursday classes at the University of Kansas. But it’s not stopping The University Daily Kansan. Moments ago, the paper tweeted an Instagram photo of its staff hard at work in the newsroom putting out the regular Thursday edition– #snowpocalypse be damned. On the projector screen, they are watching the KU men’s basketball squad topple Oklahoma State in double overtime.
College Media Podcast: Journalism Interactive 2013 & ThingLink
Welcome to the latest installment of the College Media Podcast. The CMP is a collaborative venture between me and Bryan Murley from the Center for Innovation in College Media. The podcast’s aim: spotlighting big college media news, standout student press work, and an array of helpful and innovative sites, programs, and tech tools. In our current episode, we chat about a few things I learned at Journalism Interactive 2013. In addition, Bryan breaks down the interactive photo tool ThingLink.
Student Press Headlines of the Day: George Washington & (Ahem) Monkeying Around
A pair of student press headlines stood out and made me chuckle during a recent bout of web browsing. The first sits atop a column in The Daily Reveille at Louisiana State University. It speaks to the pre-presidency wartime antics of George Washington, whom the student writer John Ford calls both a bad general and Neo [...]
$5 Fight Between SUNY Brockport Student Newspaper, Student Government Gets Nasty, Threatening
Over the past three weeks, a $5 fight at SUNY Brockport between The Stylus student newspaper and the student government has escalated into a weird, nasty battle royale involving threats, withholding of student pay, and a Twitter account featuring a dog named Reptar.
Newsflash: The Student Press Loves Crazy Squirrel Stories
The most reliably entertaining set of stories within collegemediatopia are those involving squirrels. According to student newspapers nationwide, the creatures regularly attack students. They steal food. They act cute. They die, but never quietly. And they chew up more column inches than you would think.
Print Cut Fight Goes Digital: Trouble at Marquette Tribune Leads to ‘Outpouring of Support’ Online
The print edition of The Marquette Tribune has been cut four-to-eight pages per issue. But for the power of Twitter and Change.org, it apparently could have been worse. In the middle of the week, Marquette University’s student media board voted to cut the 16-to-20-page twice-weekly paper to eight pages. According to the Tribune, the move is tied to a larger school spending freeze and a student media cost-cutting directive from the provost. The Tribunites and an impassioned band of Marquette student, staff, and alumni supporters quickly fought back– reminding campus about the paper’s importance and explaining why such a severe cut would harm its journalistic bottom line. The “outpouring of support” for the paper and competing criticisms of the school’s cutthroat agenda appear to have made at least a slight difference. Yesterday, the student media board “partially revoked” its earlier extreme print reduction plan, deciding instead the paper will now “publish issues of 12 to 16 pages rather than its traditional 16 to 20.”
Liposuction Ad in Bucknell Student Newspaper Causes Faculty to Complain to School’s President
An advertisement for new liposuction technology run in a recent issue of The Bucknellian at Bucknell University apparently stirred controversy among students, faculty, and staff. According to the paper, some profs. even voiced complaints to the president of the central Pennsylvania private school.
Pitt News Sex Edition Explores ‘Many Dimensions of Sexuality,’ Love & ‘Kissy Lips’
It’s Valentine’s Day. At the University of Pittsburgh, that means lots of sex. Now in its fifth year, The Pitt News Sex Edition annually delivers sweet, jarring, and kinky features on every sexual fetish, innuendo, and instrument fit for man and beast. It is editorial intercourse of the highest order, aiming to “supply [readers] with information and foster a dialogue.”
Video: University of Florida Student Newspaper Staffers Do the Harlem Shake
The Harlem Shake appears to be the viral dance phenomenon of the moment– 2013′s answer to “Gangnam Style” (or the “Call Me Maybe” lip dubs). Student staffers at The Independent Florida Alligator joined in on all this shaking earlier this week with a spirited rendition in their University of Florida newsroom. My two main questions upon viewing the related video: Who owns the purplish full gorilla suit, and why?
