January 24, 2008 8:00 AM PST
Student newspaper considers corporate partner
While some may contend that the primary role of college newspapers is to prepare students for work in the establishment press, school newspapers also serve a vital role in keeping the community informed. In fact, college newspapers have broken stories on many occasions that resonated in the mainstream press. Some of these stories may have never seen the light of day if it weren't for the bold actions of determined college students and the newspapers these students control. For students at Colorado State University, it appears the keys to their student-run paper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, may soon be wrestled away and handed over to newspaper giant Gannett. According to a recent AP story, "Officials with The Coloradoan in Fort Collins met Tuesday with Colorado State University leaders to discuss a 'strategic partnership' to run the campus paper." While it's unclear at this time what a strategic partnership would look like, this isn't the first time that Gannett has involved itself with a student newspaper. In August of 2006, a Gannett newspaper purchased FSView & Florida Flambeau, an independent publication that serves the student body at Florida State University. A year later, the University of Central Florida's newspaper was also sold to a Gannett publication. Unlike those instances, the Collegian is run by the university and, as The Student Newspaper Survival Blog points out, "if a deal goes through with Colorado State University, it would be the first time Gannett gets involved in a student paper that had been run by a public university." The Rocky Mountain Collegian last made headlines in September of last year when the editorial board published a four word column that read, "Taser this - FUCK BUSH." While the editorial may not have been particularly insightful, and certainly wasn't nuanced, it is absolutely essential that the students be able to publish what they see fit. Despite any forthcoming promises not to interfere with the students' editorial control, it seems doubtful that they'd allow such an incendiary column to run without any form of response. Not surprisingly, students at Colorado University have expressed concern and outrage over the news that their paper may become affiliated with Gannett. Jeremy Trujillo, the paper's newsroom manager, expressed concern that students were not invited to participate in Tuesday's meeting, he told the Student Press Law Center, "I think the way it went down was somewhat shady. They should've had a representative from student media or the Collegian to at least provide insight about how this place operates on a daily basis." In Wednesday's edition of the school paper, an editorial titled "Collegian is not for sale," explains in no uncertain terms that the staff of the newspaper is opposed to any potential partnership with the corporate media outlet. "The Collegian is not for sale, not interested in a "strategic partnership," a one-night stand or any other form of fraternization with corporate media. We prefer independence, and we'll fight for it." The column also questions the college president's willingness to contemplate such a venture. "Amid the secrecy, mistruths and rumors, one thing is certain: To our president, a businessman by trade, the CSU student voice has a price. And it's a dish best served mum, in the final hour and while students are still trying to find their classes. ... We're students, representing students, working for students. Who do you work for?" It's comforts me knowing that the students at the Rocky Mountain Collegian will not take this advance by Gannett lying down, but their determination may not be enough to stave off the corporate interests. The university has appealed to The Coloradoan to outline the advantages such a relationship would provide to its students and the school itself, but I think it's far more important to assess what's in it for the Gannett corporation and The Coloradoan. If The Collegian is already profitable, why share the profits with a major corporation when they can be spent on the university's students? If the paper is relying on money from the school, what would be lost in the transformation toward a profitable enterprise? I won't speculate what changes the paper might undergo in the process, but it seems safe to say that both the paper's independence and integrity may be compromised in the process, perhaps even the integrity of the school itself. The Rocky Mountain Collegian has operated as a part of the school for more than 100 years. Why change things now?
Josh Wolf is a journalist, an activist, and a life-long troublemaker. Having spent 226 days in jail to protect his work product, he knows first hand that a free press doesn't come cheap. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. 
Here is the bottom line- This USA Today program is nothing more than a
surreptitious way to curry favor with students and administrators under the guise of providing a valuable educational service to our community. Make no mistake about it. The goal of the USA Today readership program is not to enlighten our students and broaden their perspectives as they would have you believe. Their sneaky plan involves bringing USA Today and usually the New York Times on campus along with the local Gannett metropolitan newspaper- all free of charge to the students but paid for by the college administration. That way they can count all Gannett newspapers on campus as paid circulation and justify ad rate increases. The typical metropolitan newspaper is written on an 8th grade reading level. Is that the kind of education and enlightenment that our students can look forward too?
A few days after the local Gannett paper and two national papers are made available for free in nice shiny racks on the campus, the multitude of ad reps for the local Gannett paper will be calling on every local business within a 10-mile radius of the campus and they will of course call EVERY national advertiser that has used the college paper in the last 5 years. They will offer the college newspaper ad customers a column inch rate that the college paper can?t possibly match. They will do this long enough to destroy the advertising revenue of the college paper. This is how Gannett gobbles up the competition.
"Citizen Kane" is often considered by movie critics to be the best
>movie EVER PRODUCED.
"Citizen Kane" is a 1941 mystery/drama film. Released by RKO Pictures,
it was the first feature film directed by Orson Welles. The story
traces the life and career of Charles Foster Kane, a man whose career
in the publishing world is born of idealistic social service, but
gradually evolves into a ruthless pursuit of power."- Wikipedia
It supposedly centers around the life of William Randolph Hearst, the
undisputed giant in the newspaper industry in the early 1900's. He
tried everything he could to ban the movie from reaching the theaters
and almost succeeded. If you want to see what corporate greed in the
newspaper industry looks like, watch the movie.
But don't worry. When all looks lost, Gannett will come to the rescue and buy out the college newspaper. By that time, half the students have already been laid off because the decrease in ad revenue has necessitated drastic measures. No problem- except that the students that are left now work for a huge multimedia conglomerate and they can kiss goodbye the editorial freedom they have taken for granted.
Once the students start working for Gannett, don?t say something that Gannett does not agree with in the college paper, especially when it comes to politics. Study Gannett?s political mindset and commit it to memory or risk being shown the door. Gannett knows how the game is played. Gannett has already bought an independent college newspaper in Florida and is about to buy another student newspaper in Colorado. This is just the beginning. The alarming fact is that Gannett has duped students and their administrators into thinking that their motives are purely altruistic. That should insult the collective intelligence of our future leaders.
The student newspaper, the last bastion of true freedom of expression in the print media, is slowly being destroyed by a modern day Citizen Kane.
"There is no grand Gannett strategy," said Tara Connell, a spokeswoman at its headquarters in McLean, Va. "Gannett is not looking to buy college newspapers. We look at all sorts of things." (quoted in numerous online publications)
Oh really? Read this article from The Rocky Mountain Collegian on Mar. 7.
http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2008/03/07/News/Gannett.Csu.Turned.Down.Sale.Of.Collegian.Partnership.Dismissed-3258500.shtml
Excerpt from the University of Alabama Crimson and White online 2/13/08:
?Barbara Hall, the USA Today representative who coordinated the UA (university of Alabama) program, said USA Today is trying to create a "learning environment on the University campus through the reading of newspapers."
"If they're only interested in increasing student readership, why doesn't [USA Today] just give away the papers for free?" Isom (from the Crimson and White) asked.
?Asked that question, Hall said she did not know, except that newspapers cost money to produce and distribute. She said, however, that USA Today is more for businessmen and that the paper "is not going after the college market anytime in the near future." End of quote (Crimson White Online- 2/13 /08)
Remember- only paid circulation is recognized by the Audit Bureau of Circulation- the oversight organization that verifies circulation numbers that newspapers use to increase their ad rates. That Mrs. Hall, is why you can?t give away your newspapers, but of course you knew that already didn?t you? Just another example of the double talk that Gannett is known for.
By the way- it is generally accepted that the USA Today Collegiate Readership program was started at Penn State. USA today would have us believe (per their website) that Penn State hatched the idea and USA today blessed it. Following is a link to an article published in 1989- 8 years before the "first USA today readership program."
http://www.computer-business-review.com/article_cg.asp?guid=63A19049-91C9-4ACB-B52F-114578D44C62
If they are not interested in acquiring college newspapers or ?partnering,? why are large newspaper corporations lobbying almost every college and university in the United States, sometimes for years, to get their papers on your campus? Every free paper on your campus takes readers and advertisers away from your college newspaper. One can only read so many newspapers.
Sincerely,
A. Rooney