UGA Red & Black staff walks out today in protest. Is it now Red & Dead?
UPDATED THURSDAY MORNING:
The student staff of the Red and Black, the acclaimed University of Georgia student-run newspaper, walked out en masse Wednesday to protest what the student journalists consider intrusive oversight of what had been one of the nation’s most well known independent campus publications.
Expect a lot of news coverage as many Atlanta journalists worked at the Red & Black while students at UGA. Please keep in mind that the newspaper is an independent, non-profit enterprise that supports itself largely through ad sales. It is not under UGA or President Michael Adams and receives no direct university support. That independence has given it far greater freedom over the years to criticize the university and its policies.
The Red & Black publisher Harry Montevideo has responded to student charges that their role was being minimized and that the board was giving more powers to non journalists to dictate content and that the focus was shifting from “news” to “good news.” He says:
“The Red and Black has always championed the best interest of student journalists. Core to our mission is providing the best possible training and experience which mirrors the real world. The changes occurring here reflect an ongoing commitment for the Red & Black Publishing Company, Inc to continue to offer a news product which is relevant for and accessible to our audience as we also train student journalists for futures in a rapidly changing world of news delivery beyond our traditional print format. There will be a quality student newspaper in our racks tomorrow, as there will be next week and the week after.
In a letter on a new blog, Red & Dead, former editor Polina Marinova explains:
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 newspaper 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 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. 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.
You can read more about the controversy on this Facebook page for Red & Black alums, many of whom work in Atlanta media. You can also read more about today’s events at the Athens Banner-Herald.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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154 comments Add your comment
JacketFan
August 16th, 2012
3:11 pm
@Atlanta Native
Do these things not happen at a “regular” paper? I’ve written for a few in my day too and they were all full of mistakes and not immune to editorial gaffs. We had our issues while I was at the R&B and those issues were dealt with by the STUDENT editorial staff and our professional editorial advisor. It’s how student journalists – be they writer, photographer, editor, or columnist – learn and improve. If the R&B Board and Publisher no longer wish the R&B to be a student newspaper, then so be it. Have fun with Morris. However, if they expect to keep the R&B student-run, then they need to back off.
Atlanta Native
August 16th, 2012
3:28 pm
To “jacketfan”: As you said, “We had our issues while I was at the R&B and those issues were dealt with by the STUDENT editorial staff and our PROFESSIONAL EDITORIAL ADVISOR.” Exactly. As I said, a professional journalist with editorial experience should be monitoring poorly written, juvenile, and graphic articles on such things as the merits of male masturbation as appeared in the R&B awhile back, before they get in print — and thus maintaining a modicum of professionalism at the paper. I’m all for free and independent speech, but some things do cross the line. And why do they need so many people on the Board? Two or three professionals could do the job.
Prof
August 16th, 2012
3:59 pm
Good question, Atlanta Native. As I asked earlier, how many of those 16 Board members are UGA alumni? The 2 recent R&B stories cited so far about the joys of male masturbation and the axing of a diversity scholarship to fund President Adam’s raise could well have been the last straws for the University’s PR Office.
Just my speculations of course. But I’ve heard quite a bit from my UGA faculty friends about how President Adams operates. I know how my own school would regard such tidbits being posted in a student newspaper not officially connected with my school but definitely associated with it. Bring all the pressure to bear that you can so that it won’t happen again for the new President coming in.
123 Jackson Street
August 16th, 2012
4:06 pm
For those of you complaining about the poor state of journalism I bet the walkouts would agree with you. Newspapers (R.I.P) cease to become relevant when outside sources have a say in the editorial content. e are many reasons the industry has sunk to where it is now and this is one of them. TherAs a former R&B’er I support these students and I wish more professional journalists would stand up to people trying to exert their influence on the media. Go R&B!
123 Jackson Street
August 16th, 2012
4:07 pm
hey, where’s my copy editor?
curious
August 16th, 2012
4:29 pm
Hang in there. Your principles are worth fighting for. Once a journalist, I walked when “questionable” content was edited. Reality: if a story offended advertisers, it was out. If you think the issue is only at UGA, think again. How many articles are based on press releases? Notice the planted questions at Obama’s press conferences? The problem at UGA is spreading fast. I, for one, appreciate these students taking a stand.
P.S. When I went to college, my priority was finding a wife.
Beverly Fraud
August 16th, 2012
4:33 pm
Sounds like the students who walked out need to do some Open Records request to see what shakes out.
Dawg09
August 16th, 2012
4:41 pm
Jacket Fan,
In referencing editorial “gaffs” in your post, I was wondering to which of the following definitions you might have been referring.
1. an iron hook with a handle for landing large fish
2. the spur on a climbing iron, especially as used by telephone linemen
3. Nautical . a spar rising aft from a mast to support the head of a quadrilateral fore-and-aft sail (gaff sail)
4. a metal spur for a gamecock
Interesting writing from someone using the tired Techism of U(sic)GA and invoking an appeal to authority as a current or former “journalist”.
Joke of a School
August 16th, 2012
4:42 pm
“The newspaper has always been a student-run operation”
Yeah, I don’t think so given that the students were just ignored/over-ridden due to their ongoing juvenile writing.
It is so sad that so much associated with UGA/Dawg-nation is an embarrassment. Athletic directors drunk and with panties, today coach indicted for Ponzi scheme, coaches teaching bogus courses, teachers having to sue the school to bring to light failings, the UGA foundation(s) not getting along with the university, fans pee-ing on each other, fans taking dumps in public and trashing the property, athletes constantly breaking the law, star athletes making statements after they have left the school about how stupid their fans are, hiring of Cynthia Tucker …..
Follow the Course
August 16th, 2012
4:50 pm
Curious … did you?
Grizzard's Ghost
August 16th, 2012
4:59 pm
I’m turning over in my grave…
Vanessa Curry
August 16th, 2012
5:09 pm
As a former student newspaper adviser I am always surprised by officials in institutions of high education who believe they have a right to stomp all over the First Amendment. As for good news or bad news … journalists should only consider news value. Is it newsworthy or not newsworthy?
curious
August 16th, 2012
5:13 pm
Yes. 42 years and counting. I love her a lot more than any diploma.
No one has noticed???
August 16th, 2012
5:45 pm
The board member who wrote the memo said that they will not tolerate “liable” not “libel”. I guess being legally obligated to do anything is out of the question…but they’ll print as many false statements as they want to in this new regime. No wonder the entire staff walked out.
Archie
August 16th, 2012
5:49 pm
“I would rather live in a country without government but with newspapers, than a country with a government but no newspapers.” -Thomas Jefferson
Hummon
August 16th, 2012
5:57 pm
As someone said earlier, Brack’s name at the head of the board might tell you a lot about why this is happening. Suburban-Atlanta-chamber-of-commerce-friendly-journalism.
ww
August 16th, 2012
6:07 pm
I always like the Red and Black and GT’s newspaper. They were paper written by students for students. When I went to UNF, in Jacksonville, Florida, the paper is written by students for the faculty and staff. One day the paper would say students love the nature preservation that the university is built on, then next day the paper would say that the students love the fact that the land is being cleared for development of new buildings. The paper is just a propaganda tool for the University, paid for by the students.
Kno
August 16th, 2012
6:08 pm
Having read the “internal memo” filled with dog-whistle terms like “our audience” — read; upper-middle class white people, sorority and frat boys — while using terms like “burr-headed” in reference to Black people & making any “non-English headlines” off-limits, not only does the person or people responsible for drafting it deserve to be excused from whatever position they hold over the Red & Black or Grady in general, but they deserve to be publicly laughed at, castigated and belittled in front of the entire world of journalism.
What we have here is a old White, Conservative male going absolutely nuclear after one too many “Liberal Interest” stories written by students with “body piercings” (Really? That set you off? What is it — 1954?) and then attempting to flex his new-found muscle to make a student run newspaper conform to some imaginary corporate rules. No more “journalism” — their quotations, not mine — and more fluff pieces about Rush Week! Hurray Fourth Estate!
ww
August 16th, 2012
6:10 pm
Should be “liked”. Should say “built on; the next.”
Beverly Fraud
August 16th, 2012
6:45 pm
Why do we PRETEND?
If there were sophomoric musings about self gratification but they were balanced out by GLOWING articles about Michael Adams and all things UGA, is there ANY doubt this director power play never would have happened?
Who are we kidding; who ARE we kidding?
JacketFan
August 16th, 2012
7:07 pm
@Dawg09 – I’m a Tech fan who attended Georgia and worked for the R&B for two semesters. I’m typing on an iPad. Gaffes happen
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
7:10 pm
Again, the UGA administration has no control over the R&B, so please stop bashing UGA for what it cannot actually do! Adams has been there for 15 plus years with no action against the R&B, and now you are saying he suddenly gets a whim to shut down the student reporters? The R&B is a private company and UGA has no control over it. Look at the board and fuss, or look at the memo and wonder about the editors/reporters reaction, but leave the University out of it, as they have no say in this battle.
Beverly Fraud
August 16th, 2012
7:20 pm
University out of it, as they have no say in this battle
We are to believe the University has say, AT ALL in this?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Just like Vince McMahon has no say in who the WWE Champion is?
beowulf
August 16th, 2012
7:24 pm
in related news, the UGA glee club has added ten professional singers to provide a more polished performance. Students are of course still welcome to sing along. UGA Intramural bowling has added ten professional bowlers because the students’ scores were just not up to par…
As someone who spent an alarmingly high percentage of his undergraduate years on a daily newspaper run by students, I am amazed that the R&B thinks it needs professionals on the editorial side at all. We certainly had none. We were 100% independent of the University, had a great and supportive board of directors and 100 years of tradition, but it was 100% student run, from top to bottom. Did we make mistakes? Sure, but so does the New York Times. That’s how you learn (well maybe not the NYT) But we also graduated a number of folks who later got Pulitzers and national bylines. Students got more responsibility than they would see again for ten years after graduation. Although I wouldn’t be caught dead in a journalism career, being on the paper was nonetheless one of the formative experiences of my life.
It sounds like the R&B has evolved into something very different from what a student newspaper should be all about. If it’s just a means of providing part-time jobs and resume credit to journalism students, then maybe it’s time to start fresh.
I am acquainted with Miss Marinova and think she is an impressive young lady. I wish her all the best in her future pursuits. I wish the R&B’s board of directors luck as they reap what they have sown.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
7:26 pm
BF: Go to the R&B website, review the history of the paper, look at the information about the publisher and staff, then tell me why we should assume that UGA has any part in this when the R&B has been independent for over 30 years, gets no funds from UGA, the University has no oversight of the paper, and the building it is run out of is not even on the campus. How can you make assumptions when the paper and the reporters take pride in being independent of the University? At least do some research first.
curious
August 16th, 2012
7:36 pm
The R&B is not part of UGA. Really? Paper offers real world experience for UGA students; Journalism faculty involved; content revolves around campus life. No connection? No motivation for UGA power structure to control R&B?
Try this: come to Athens; open a paper; give these students a forum. Why, I bet no one will ever try to pressure you.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
7:44 pm
I suggest you research the paper first, then read the latest article about it from the AJC, then rethink your ideas. It is in Athens, so of course there will be UGA J. students as a part of the paper. As for any UGA press on the board, they are there along with a number of others, including an AJC person, based on their journalism ties. Would you suggest the AJC is trying to control it? It is independent, and prides itself on being independent. The students have complained about the board and the publisher, but not UGA. Why, because UGA is not a part of this fight. Proximity does not mean involvement.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
7:47 pm
profs, not press
curious
August 16th, 2012
7:53 pm
You seem informed. Tell me, where is the paper printed? What’s the source of the ink, print stock? Where is the paper distributed? If it’s on campus, does every private business have the same access?
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
8:03 pm
Curious: Really? Well if you must know, I have no background in papers or printing, so I could not tell you about the ink or print stock. As for the R&B company, it is on Baxter Street, off campus (as I stated earlier), and I would think it is printed right there, as it is a sizable building that can handle the whole process. Again, please read and review their site and the new article, then comment, as the AJC now states multiple times in the new article that it is independent and UGA has no control of it. Now why don’t you give me facts that show any oversight by UGA (and just saying that the Board has some UGA grads or profs on it is not oversight by the University).
Prof
August 16th, 2012
8:52 pm
@ Dawg67. All I can say is that you don’t seem to know much about the world of academic politics, if you can write: “Again, the UGA administration has no control over the R&B, so please stop bashing UGA for what it cannot actually do! ”
Have you ever been a faculty member who knows administrative politics from the inside? Your name suggests you only know UGA from the student’s point of view. There’s a whole other world of University politics. Of course the UGA administration has control over R&B, just not openly or directly.
Beverly Fraud for one seems to see this… what exquisite timing for the R&B to run that story on axing a diversity scholarship to use the funds for President Adams’ raise, when all faculty have had frozen salaries for 4 years, tuition is being raised, and UGA is criticized for its low number of African-American and Hispanic students. Did they think there would be no consequences for them?
For a moderate idea of academic politics, read Machiavelli’s “The Prince” or, better yet, “The Art of War” by 6th C. BC military strategist Sun Tzu.
Tabitha
August 16th, 2012
9:07 pm
The red and black staffers are ready for working in the field of journalism… they are unemployed.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
9:17 pm
Prof: Actually, I do know about higher ed administrative politics from the inside, so you are incorrect in your assumption. If possible, can you please explain to me using facts how you know that “of course the UGA administration has control over the R&B” as you stated. BF did not have facts, and neither has anyone else, yet you act like it is okay to use a logical fallacy statement to prove a point. Again, proximity does not equal control. I suggest you read the latest article by the AJC and then respond.
Prof
August 16th, 2012
10:03 pm
Of course I don’t have facts to show that some in the UGA administration might have had a little private conversation with members of the R&B Board of Directors about the necessity of getting some sort of prior control over what R&B published. It needn’t even have been President Adams, who at this point is a lame duck who would probably like to be free of UGA politics once and for all. One never does have facts about “personal diplomacy” in public politics.
All one can do to read the weather is to look at the external signs. UGA (really, the Regents) has been under heavy criticism for giving the Presidents of the USG research universities extremely high raises this year (50% in some cases) when faculty and regular staff have had frozen salaries for 4 years. The Regents came under even heavier criticism for the special bonus they’re giving Adams for leaving.
Meanwhile, there’s been a storm about higher tuition rates in the face of declining HOPE funds for students.
Plus, UGA has always been touchy about the low number of African-American students (and faculty) it has, especially in contrast to nearby Georgia State.
So no, I have no facts to show that possibly some sort of reining in the free-wheeling R&B has been decided by UGA administration or even the Regents. But from several decades of experience with administrative politics, I can state that this conclusion fits the rule of Occam’s Razor: the simplest of two competing theories is preferable and one should try to explain something in terms of what is already known.
Ron Simmons
August 16th, 2012
10:05 pm
Hats off to those students who had the guts to stand up for what is right. Those individuals who are trying to suppress their right to free expression make me feel ashamed that I went to UGA. Their attempts at censorship are out of order! Unfortunately, football and the so-called “Greeks” are all that matter at UGA.
Beverly Fraud
August 16th, 2012
10:09 pm
BF did not have facts, and neither has anyone else,
Nope, can’t say that I do.
Also didn’t have the facts when I said, on the FIRST day the SACS/APS story came out, that the APS board could be dancing on a stripper pole en masse at Magic City, the video could be uploaded to YouTube and STILL, there is no way that SACS takes APS accreditation.
Just like this situation, it’s just the simple recognition of a HAM-FISTED political power play.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
10:18 pm
So you are okay with ignoring the information given by the R&B (both the company and the students) that it is an independent company (see last article) and that UGA has no control. You are also comfortable referring to an article (diversity scholarship) that was run over a year ago as somehow impacting what has just occurred. In addition, you are okay lumping the BOR and UGA together as seemingly one entity when they are clearly not always on the same page. How do you balance out some of the criticism of the R&B& B by UGA faculty about this action? I would assume the easiest path, if UGA, the R&B, the students involved, and the AJC say that the R&B is independent of UGA would be to assume that it is independent. You are making assumptions not based on facts, but on what I assume is your previous issues with college administrators, but that does not make your view correct.
bootney farnsworth
August 16th, 2012
10:30 pm
@ dawg67
you are welcome to your opinion, but it is at best misguided, at worse a willful shill.
UGA dominates everything, and I mean everything which occurs in Athens.
and in the top 5 plays in almost every presidential playbook is to silence or make irrelevant all critical media. and the R&B has often been very critical of UGA and Adams in the past.
while, like Beverly, I’m not privy to all the facts, I have swum in these seas for a very long time. this is an attempt to subvert the paper, or the stupidest management move possible.
bootney farnsworth
August 16th, 2012
10:33 pm
@ Prof
ham handed as he is, Adams isn’t flat out stupid. if his fingerprints were found on this, SACS would have a field day with it.
this, like so many other things involving Adams & co, is classic backroom politics.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
10:36 pm
Bootney: So you have no facts, but you are okay making wild assumptions? If that is how choose to do business, so be it, and I will not bother you with discussion. Not a shill, just someone who believes in facts and logic, not pre-determined judgement.
Beverly Fraud
August 16th, 2012
10:39 pm
Well I say this Dawg67.
I could be flat out wrong. But look at it this way. Did the Metro Chamber of Commerce act in any “official” capacity when it came to operating APS schools or the school board?
Do we then surmise they didn’t have any influence during the cheating scandal?
Same principles involved. HAM-FISTED political power play.
curious
August 16th, 2012
10:44 pm
FYI
http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?610405
bootney farnsworth
August 16th, 2012
10:50 pm
on a purely business note:
the R&G has been successful exactly because it was an independent student voice. it dealt with issues important to students and the UGA community from their POV without having to deal with direct UGA censorship.
and as anyone who’s ever worked in higher ed knows, student issues very often are very different than what admin thinks they are or wants them to be. much as been made about the article concerning husband hunting (my term, not R&Bs) anyone who wishes to think that a LOT college kids don’t have a goal of landing an MRS or related degree as part of their college experience should contact me later. I have bridges to sell you, and prime beachfront property on the moon just waitin’ for ya.
in the past the R&B has dealt with issues UGA didn’t like, but nothing could be done since it was all student labor. now that the R&B is suddenly paid “professional” labor intensive, it suddenly is concerned about “balance” in coverage, with the hope of erring on the good stuff. and suddenly it is concerned about the “professionals” inserting themselves upstream more than ever before.
instead of making sure the R&B is functionally correct, the new boys in town want to make sure it is at the correct function. this turns the independent student voice into ….just another local rag.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
10:50 pm
BF: So because of the APS issue, I should now distrust everyone and ignore facts? Curious: Thanks, this shows that the R&B is a private, non-profit company that is not on the UGA campus and has a CEO and CFO that are not a part of UGA.
Dawg67
August 16th, 2012
10:59 pm
As Huxley wrote, “Facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored.” As no facts have been given lately, I bid you goodnight.
bootney farnsworth
August 16th, 2012
10:59 pm
@ Dawg,
I already told you I’ve swum in these seas a very long time. And I’ve been a part of the game from every angle possible.
myself and others here have laid out fact after fact after face regarding how Adams and this circus is run. you choose for whatever reason to ignore them. I can’t help the willfully ignorant.
did you see Lincoln get shot? personally? have you seen Japan today? personally? there are things in life logic, experience, and practicality teach a willing student they exist, even if seen first hand.
having reviewed your posts, you should practice what you preach
bootney farnsworth
August 16th, 2012
11:01 pm
something I learned in Sunday School.
I believe in the sun, even when its cloudy.
Beverly Fraud
August 17th, 2012
8:16 am
They said they wanted GOOD news. They didn’t say they wanted the TRUTH.
Pretty much shows where the directors’ priorities are.
Prof
August 17th, 2012
11:36 am
I can’t say much more to convince someone like Dawg67 who takes everything stated at face-value and seems naive about the possibility of, as Bootney Farnsworth put it, “backroom politics.” For it can certainly be true that “the R&B is a private, non-profit company that is not on the UGA campus and has a CEO and CFO that are not a part of UGA” AND that UGA–or some other administrative entity–would wish to change R&B policy and use their clout to do so.
By the way, when R&B ran that story a year ago connecting the end of UGA’s diversity scholarship and the sudden raise to President Adams’ salary, did they produce substantial evidence showing that the connection was more than just coincidence? For after all, presidential raises are determined by the Regents, not by University administrations.
Thinking more about all this, I find it a distinct possibility that it was the Regents who quietly put pressure on the R&B Board to make these changes, not the UGA administration. Ten of the 18 Regents are UGA graduates, and most of the 18 are business people. The issues here of the free press and the academic freedom of the students are usually respected by University administrators, though they may grit their teeth. But the Regents….??
dawgs67
August 17th, 2012
11:49 am
boot: I still need facts about this situation, and you have given none. Prof: From my memory, I believe they gave facts, but that it turned out later to be the case that the scholarship funding was just being changed to being given by a different source of revenue, not being cut out. For who is responsible, I still believe it is the R&B Board and the publisher, as they seemed to be getting negative feedback from their audience (mostly UGA students) and wanted more stories that the students would be truly interested in and more accuracy (based on the memo). If you look at how they compared the stories above the fold R&B vs AJC, it seems they wanted to pick up interest for the stories inside.