I, Polina Marinova, have resigned as the editor-in-chief from The Red & Black, the student newspaper covering the University of Georgia. The Red & Black’s top editors, design staff, photo staff and reporters walked out of the newspaper building this afternoon.
The Red & Black has covered the University of Georgia community since 1893 and has been independent of the University since 1980. The ne
wspaper has always been a student-run operation, but recently, we began feeling serious pressure from people who were not students. In less than a month, The Red & Black has hired more than 10 permanent staff with veto power over students’ decisions.In a draft outlining the “expectations of editorial director at The Red & Black,” a member of The Red & Black’s Board of Directors stated the newspaper needs a balance of good and bad. Under “Bad,” it says, “Content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is ‘journalism.’ If in question, have more GOOD than BAD.” I took great offense to that, but the board member just told me this is simply a draft. But one thing that would not change is that the former editorial adviser, now the editorial director, would see all content before it is published online and in print. For years, students have had final approval of the paper followed by a critique by the adviser only after articles were published. However, from now on, that will not be the case. Recently, editors have felt pressure to assign stories they didn’t agree with, take “grip and grin” photos and compromise the design of the paper.But what’s most alarming to me is that there was no input from The Red & Black student staff about any of these changes. I was doing an internship this summer, and I did not receive any materials related to these changes until I myself emailed the board member about it. Even then, nothing was solidified, and I still do not even know what the print product will look like in a week. I’ve worked at this paper since I was a freshman and held multiple leadership positions throughout. This semester, we have a really talented, smart and dedicated staff that had no voice in these changes. It all came from the top, not from the students.
The Red & Black has always been the best experience for student journalists. It’s no longer a place where lessons can be learned without “serious repercussions.” We don’t believe that is a learning environment.
As the former editor-in-chief, I stood by my editors and staff 100 percent and what I found out today was that we all stood together.
This is all about making money. Or, not losing any more of it. Student newspaper or not, that is the real world. So staffers, be careful. Resolve this fast. At the end of the day, while prospective employers will admire your moxie, they will only hire people with experience.
so , in trade for experience you lay your integrity aside and your vaalues and principles…. sorry sorry sorry
I am in training to become a college professor… and when I see college students taking a stand like this, it makes me stand up and cheer!
As a Grady College alum and 3-time Fink student, I can’t believe this is happening … our college’s tradition of excellence and allowing the R&B run by students was always SO STRONG!
Kent Middleton, what the the hell are you thinking???
What would Fink say about all this?
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It truly saddens me to hear that there are those who would tarnish what the R&B stands for. I grew up near UGA and there was always a copy of the R&B in the house. I applaud the staff for acting on their principles and taking action. I hope that you get the resolution you seek and that the R&B is restored back to the students.
If there are any protests of this that are organized on campus, or any petitions to sign, please let us know. I’d be happy to stand in support with you, for your courage in matters of principle. You made a significant stand for freedom here. Best wishes & I will be signal boosting for you everywhere I can.
Sounds like an unfortunate move by the administration. But take it as a learning experience. That actually *is* the real world. Editors and journalists don’t always get their way or have complete control. It is a frustrating reality that there are political and economic pressures involved in nearly every newsroom and editorial office. Good luck.
I am a former ME of the independent Daily Mississippian at Ole Miss (Class of 1994), currently at The Birmingham News (until Oct. at least). Journalism is in fact under attack. It is an entirely different business now than when I graduated. Instead of the needs of readers driving coverage and allotment of resources, it’s now the almighty dollar. Profit above principles may work in the short term, but nobody wins in the long term.
Know that the staff of the Red & Black has done the right thing by resigning. While it was a difficult decision, and things might be rough short term, I believe your stand for what’s right will pay off long term.
I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it. Believe in yourself and your principles and you’ll sleep fine at night.
Absolutely sick to my stomach, as a R&B alum and a former managing editor — back in the days when there was ZERO question that students ran the paper and that we students editors decided what went into the paper. We lost Fink this year. Now the Red & Black.
First of all, I support you guys – a very brave decision indeed. Secondly, I work for a paper in which we have and have always had an advisor that checks over the paper before we send it off for publishing, before we even leave the layout room actually. No one is allowed to leave the layout room before he approves our pages. However, we are still completely funded by the school – so where does this leave us? We want more freedom from our advisor, and we’re okay with him catching any liabelous pieces or whatever, but it’s our paper, so our design mistakes should be our mistakes, etc.
Students being replaced by bureaucrats! Why yes, I see / Our real job is bureaucracy. Wretched farrgg bureaucrats! Part of the Marxist paradigm. Lenin, Stalin & Hitler LOVED bureaucracy and bureaucrats like the ones who’ve taken over your newspaper, your campus, your city, county, state & federal government and your very lives. CHILD: “Mommy, who is that strange man sleeping in your bed?” ADULT: “Oh that’s our bureaucrat, darling. He’s here to make sure mommy & daddy follow all the rules.”
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If your charter says the R&B is an independent, student run organization, and the board is attempting to change that, you should do more than just walk out – you should file a lawsuit !!!
Commitment is the first duty of a journalist: commitment to his or her craft, to integrity, to principles and firmness. It can be a sleazy business; good on you for not selling out.
The Red and Black was an integral part of my daily routine while obtaining my degree at The University, my wife is still there as a graduate student and brings me home a copy from time to time. I have often rolled my eyes at some of the editorials and my roommates and i used to compete not only to finish the crossword first, but also to see who could find the most misspellings. I wouldn’t change a thing about The Red and Black though. The coverage of UGA athletics was exceptional and the AP stories were always well selected. A few mistakes here and there are to be expected from a student led newspaper. The most important components were always well attended to, the foremost of which being balanced coverage of important issues. I hope the staff won’t let their paper that they’ve worked so hard on go without a fight, but if they do pursue and independent venture, i’m sure the Bulldog Nation will support them fully.
Another faculty member here giving you my full support. Don’t let up, and don’t be afraid to let go if needed.
As a former ANE and News Editor at the R&B, I applaud what you’ve done. But remember this: Walking out is easy. It’s sticking to your guns that is hard.
I would have done the same thing back in the mid- 90s. I am curious as to what my old Chiefs, Bynum and Weichmann, think of this…
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Normally I’d be skeptical of such a walk-out, I’ve seen similar things in the past for less defensible reasons. However, I personally knew most of these editors, both as former classmates at Grady and coworkers at the R&B. They’re all class acts, and would not have made this decision lightly. I trust to you all, especially Polina, in making the right call here. Good for you guys taking a stand. We’ll see how long the paper holds out without a staff of talented, overworked people who work for next to nothing.
-Mark Miller
Also, I’d encourage you to open up commenting without moderation, so you won’t be accused of picking and choosing which opinions get posted here
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As another former Editor-in-Chief (NorthWind, Northern Michigan University, 1983-1984) I too applaud your stand. As others have stated above, the opportunities to learn real-world experiences were unmatched within the university environment. I too can remember the joy of publication day, and the horror of learning that I missed a mistake that wound up being printed and distributed in the thousands. There are few ways to learn more in life than to make a public mistake for all to see, especially if you have accidentally harmed someone or their reputation. I made mistakes, and I was nauseated by them when I felt we should have done better. But the answer isn’t having non-students make the final editorial decisions, unless of course they simply want to turn the paper into a glorified newsletter. The press must maintain its adversarial role if it is to remain the fourth estate, but alas we see more newspapers losing that role today because they choose to side with the institutions they are responsible for holding accountable. Stand together, and build upon this life lesson so that those that follow in your footsteps will have the same opportunity that we all here have been lucky enough to have had.
Aah, the power elites try to use their commissars to suppress the press.
Students: you are the boss, your parents and you pay these power-grabbers’ salaries. Take back your school.
Good for them! We need to preserve our freedom of the press and take stands such as this! I am a journalism lecturer and am so proud to hear of students showing their passion for journalism. It sounds as if the university just wants good PR from every publication on the campus and is trying to insure that without an understanding of how important it is to respect and allow students to practice freedom of the press on campus.
Please keep fighting the good fight. Newspapers have always been driven by profits by necessity, but when a journalistic organization sets aside true news in the name of profits, it ceases to be a journalistic organization and instead becomes a shill in the name of profit-driven revenue.
Journalism school is not only supposed to teach about design. It’s also supposed to teach the student how to get the story, write the story and publish the story. If the story shines a negative light on an issue, it’s because there exists negative light to shine. Journalists are the bearers of the light that shines on the truths in the dark crevices of our society. Without true journalism, unafraid to publish the nasty bits, the world is reduced to sheep being led by the few shepherds of the “news” to the slaughter.
In addition, shouldn’t anybody involved in Journalism at least know how to spell libel?
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Journalism – 1997
University of Tennessee Daily Beacon Staff – 1993-1995
Just another example of PR pukes looking to take over the world by glossing over what’s really happening in favor of putting their own happy spin on what is happening. The best thing that University of Georgia students could do is to boycott this paper and website. I applaud the students for sticking to their guns.
I am appalled by this unilateral action in restraint of UGa students’ freedom of expression and press, and in derogation of their educational experience.
I urge you and the UGa community to take a look at the response of the University of Virginia community earlier this summer, when a few members of the Board of Visitors suddenly, in early June, forced the resignation of the University’s recently appointed, highly effective and universally popular President Sullivan. The BoV top brass did this without notice to or input from the rest of the Board or the broader University community. For several weeks, UVa students, faculty, alumni, and the wider Charlottesville/Virginia/national UVa community mounted a sustained, unanimous protest — on-line, in the media, and via physical demonstrations on University grounds — against this unilateral decision and its lack of transparency. Within the month the BoV was forced to back down and reinstate President Sullivan (although they have still refused to disclose the reasons and motivations behind their original decision).
(For details, just google “UVa President Sullivan Board of Visitors”, etc., for reams of on-line print and social media coverage. The Washington Post reporting was quite thorough and many-sided.)
The UVa story is an apt template, and I hope the University of Georgia community comes together and stands strong to reverse this egregious Black and Red decision.
As a Georgia Tech alum I applaud you for taking a stand.
Stick to your guns. When I was the student general manager of our campus radio station, I had managed to get a hold of a memo from our trustees’ “New Century Committee”. Under “campus media”, the NCC’s plan was to evaluate support and funding based on the “public relations significance” of our station, newspaper, cctv and (somewhat incredibly) the annual literary magazine. We raised such a stink about it that they ended up with quite a different problem related to “public relations significance”.
People lazily reminding you that “this is just how the world works” are entirely missing the point. We all must stand up to the abuse of power where ever we see it, no matter how ‘normal’ the power seems. You are fulfilling your social contract in doing this; this is a victory for the people. Bravo and stay strong.
Just a note, you might want to fix that second paragraph. Looks like you hit return there in ‘newspaper’
It is time for all of the students to leave Red & Black and start a new independent news paper.
Fink is rolling over in his grave right now. Keep up the good fight.
This is another instance of the corporate takeover of academia. You did the right thing to resist this! Hopefully the UGA student population will rally and occupy the administration to fight this. –
Please spread the message from Jane Burgermeister: Jane Burgermeister – pandemic update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebcG_WcsezY
I don’t want to sound condescending as someone who doesn’t know any of you personally, but I want to say how proud I am of your actions. You are doing a wonderful, brave and RIGHT thing. Keep on keeping on.
As an ’81 Grady grad, I’m shocked and saddened to learn of this PR mandate for the school’s newspaper. What’s next–strike “Journalism” from our school’s name ?Good for you and your staffers for your integrity and bravery. Run an independent paper online, and watch your readership explode. People want the truth and real stories–not PR spin.
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Unfortunately, student-led newspapers are coming under fire like this more and more frequently these days. I’m glad you guys decided to take a stand, even if the outcome may not be quite what you desire.
I was a student at UGA from 1969 to 1973 and the Red & Black was always on top of what was happening on campus and around the country: Civil Rights and Vietnam war protests, Kent State, etc. – with very little “adult” supervision; that’s how the writers and editors learned how to put a paper together – on their own. I admire your courage and willingness to stick to your principles. This old UGA grad(’73) supports you! Don’t give in to those academic/corporate twits!
Keep writing, keep reporting, keep doing the work – publish online. You lose when you walk away and allow the others to fill the void with drivel. You win when provide a better alternative. Make your career and the rest of your life happen right now.
I would like to second this suggestion. Hopefully you and your staff can rise from the ashes an create something better–an alternative, unbiased news source for students (even if it is an exclusively online publication). Not only will the student body respect your team and respond well to your decision, but future employers will admire your tenacity and ability to make the right decision.
Class of 2000 alum here. Just wanted to say to keep up the good fight, and that you have one more supporter up here in DC.
Posted my commentary of the situation here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/16/1120919/-University-of-Georgia-s-Student-Paper-journalists-are-told-to-do-fluff-journalism
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Consensus among the commenters is you should all start your own online paper. Completely student run. Just do it from this blog and use social media to pass around the url.
Though not a journalist myself, my late father was a Columbia J-School masters degree grad; I learned lots about the profession through him. Without question, he would be completely in your camp, and rooting you on to resist this intrusion. So, for him, I will say: “This is not something you compromise about.” And, he would add, “Be strong, we admire you and the journalism profession is proud to count you as members and future leaders.”
if and when you’re forced finally to work in the real world, you’ll find you can’t throw a tantrum and storm out when experienced professionals step into jobs senior to you. for goodness sakes, don’t you think you’re burning to the ground an opportunity to learn here? i hope they bring in other students without that proverbial bug a bit south of your midsection.
I think you should start your own independent student paper that is actually independent. Consider using something like Kickstarter to raise the operating funds for a print version, and in the meantime you can start with an online-only version. Your board should be mainly students–including some Terry MBA students–and so should your upper management. Definitely you will need MBA students to help with a business plan. I have no doubt that there is enough student talent at UGA for you to pull this off. It is the The Red and Black which needs UGA students, and not vice-versa.
That’s right, Unitra: freedom through conformity! It’s clear that you agree with a true journalist, Stephen Colbert, who told us: “[Y]ou people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put ‘em through a spell check and go home.” Friends, just keep that kernel of integrity real deep down and let the bosses tell you what “good” and “bad” journ-a-ma-lism is.
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