Spring Break
Editorial: For sale by president?
Gannett offer hints at a troubling future for college papers
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Opinions
Media consolidation is a touchy subject among journalists. Buyouts and cost-cutting measures force the press into the ugly realization that their duty to serve the public is supported by a necessity to perform in the marketplace. The ethical and personal difficulty of reporting on massive changes to one's own livelihood is a challenge, and journalists are defensive about their role as public servants - see the clamor over Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of The Wall Street Journal last year, or last week's resignation of the Editor-in-Chief of the Los Angeles Times for resisting downsizing. As newspapers compete with more and more technological tools for fewer and fewer eyes, buyouts and budget cuts have grown more frequent. Now, this troubling trend is encroaching on the world of college journalism.
Last week, The Associated Press reported that Colorado State University is considering a "strategic partnership" between the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the university's student newspaper, and Gannett Company, the largest media holding company in the United States by circulation and the owner of big-name papers like USA Today, the Detroit Free Press and Arizona's own Arizona Republic and Tucson Citizen.
The Collegian's college-age market and lucrative advertisement revenues are reason enough for Gannett to be interested. But there may be more to the proposal than economics. Last semester, CSU was embroiled in controversy over a provocative four-word editorial that simply read "Taser this ... Fuck Bush." In the aftermath, CSU President Larry Penley issued a statement expressing disappointment "that the Collegian's recent editorial choices do not reflect the expectations we have of our student journalists." The paper - and the university - weathered a few weeks of embarrassing media coverage last semester, and last week Penley initiated the buyout discussion with Gannett. Collegian editors fear that the talks are retribution for their editorial choices - and it's hard to dismiss them as coincidence.
Last week, The Associated Press reported that Colorado State University is considering a "strategic partnership" between the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the university's student newspaper, and Gannett Company, the largest media holding company in the United States by circulation and the owner of big-name papers like USA Today, the Detroit Free Press and Arizona's own Arizona Republic and Tucson Citizen.
The Collegian's college-age market and lucrative advertisement revenues are reason enough for Gannett to be interested. But there may be more to the proposal than economics. Last semester, CSU was embroiled in controversy over a provocative four-word editorial that simply read "Taser this ... Fuck Bush." In the aftermath, CSU President Larry Penley issued a statement expressing disappointment "that the Collegian's recent editorial choices do not reflect the expectations we have of our student journalists." The paper - and the university - weathered a few weeks of embarrassing media coverage last semester, and last week Penley initiated the buyout discussion with Gannett. Collegian editors fear that the talks are retribution for their editorial choices - and it's hard to dismiss them as coincidence.
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