Spring Break
Strike continues for staff of Oregon Daily Emerald
Lauren Dillard
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Forum
College newspapers are a tough gig. Even more tough? Picking between ethics and your job description.
Better yet, the Oregon Daily Emerald is having to choose between journalistic integrity and how much supervision they'll have from the University of Oregon.
The staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald is on strike. It started Wednesday at 6 a.m.
The staff of the Emerald produced the first issued of the paper since 1900 without any student content. The issue was also sans photos.
The Daily Barometer is governed by a board called the University Student Media Committee. There are four students and four university staff members who serve as voting members. The board is also comprised of the editors and managers of the five branches of Student Media as well as the director and assistant directors of Student Media.
The ODE is taking a stand against the ODE Board of Directors.
According to The Associated Press, the ODE board recruited Steven A. Smith - former editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane - as a consultant. Smith designed a plan that included hiring a publisher on a five-year contract.
Though Smith declined an offer to take the post of publisher, he said that he would do the job for a year while the ODE board conducted a national search.
Smith mentioned at some point that he would also be interested in teaching at the university while serving as publisher of the ODE.
The student editors at the ODE had a problem with this, among other issues. They feared that the publisher - under the new plan - would have more power than the editor of the paper. If Smith were to also teach classes, he would have power over them in the classroom as well.
At this point, through a series of events, Smith has rescinded his interest in the position.
The ODE editors are on strike because they are asking the board to meet a number of demands.
First, they are asking that the board rescind the offer the Smith, now a moot point.
Better yet, the Oregon Daily Emerald is having to choose between journalistic integrity and how much supervision they'll have from the University of Oregon.
The staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald is on strike. It started Wednesday at 6 a.m.
The staff of the Emerald produced the first issued of the paper since 1900 without any student content. The issue was also sans photos.
The Daily Barometer is governed by a board called the University Student Media Committee. There are four students and four university staff members who serve as voting members. The board is also comprised of the editors and managers of the five branches of Student Media as well as the director and assistant directors of Student Media.
The ODE is taking a stand against the ODE Board of Directors.
According to The Associated Press, the ODE board recruited Steven A. Smith - former editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane - as a consultant. Smith designed a plan that included hiring a publisher on a five-year contract.
Though Smith declined an offer to take the post of publisher, he said that he would do the job for a year while the ODE board conducted a national search.
Smith mentioned at some point that he would also be interested in teaching at the university while serving as publisher of the ODE.
The student editors at the ODE had a problem with this, among other issues. They feared that the publisher - under the new plan - would have more power than the editor of the paper. If Smith were to also teach classes, he would have power over them in the classroom as well.
At this point, through a series of events, Smith has rescinded his interest in the position.
The ODE editors are on strike because they are asking the board to meet a number of demands.
First, they are asking that the board rescind the offer the Smith, now a moot point.
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