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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events Topic
Topic: A journalism school with no newspaper
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Alan Swank
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Posted: 6/18/2021 10:46 PM
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Posted: 6/19/2021 10:01 AM
It's a shame. Couldn't a GoFundMe sent to alums raise 45k to save the Post in like 20 minutes?
yamaha45701
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Posted: 6/19/2021 12:10 PM
Autocracies and most corporations do not think outside of the box, thus they wither away when faced with challenges. I have witnessed the demise of several. Now, with shrinking enrollment and the fiscal challenges, they are unable to adjust. The Post was around during the great depression so no one can tell me this is not more challenging. Yes, digital has cut into print, but people still want reporting.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 6/19/2021 3:57 PM
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more
It's a shame. Couldn't a GoFundMe sent to alums raise 45k to save the Post in like 20 minutes?
While true and probably more like 100K, that just ignores the issue and that would be misplaced spending priorities. How can you tout a superior j school and at the same time not support a lab for training? Pony up Cutler Hall.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 6/19/2021 10:39 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
It's a shame. Couldn't a GoFundMe sent to alums raise 45k to save the Post in like 20 minutes?
While true and probably more like 100K, that just ignores the issue and that would be misplaced spending priorities. How can you tout a superior j school and at the same time not support a lab for training? Pony up Cutler Hall.
It’s not a lab paper; it’s an independent student newspaper. There’s a world of difference. This is history that plays an important role in the current dilemma.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
Alan Swank
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Posted: 6/19/2021 10:52 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
It's a shame. Couldn't a GoFundMe sent to alums raise 45k to save the Post in like 20 minutes?
While true and probably more like 100K, that just ignores the issue and that would be misplaced spending priorities. How can you tout a superior j school and at the same time not support a lab for training? Pony up Cutler Hall.
It’s not a lab paper; it’s an independent student newspaper. There’s a world of difference. This is history that plays an important role in the current dilemma.
It's editorially independent.

Do they pay the going rate for rent and utilities for their space in a campus buiding?
Last Edited: 6/19/2021 11:06:29 PM by Alan Swank
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 6/20/2021 9:10 AM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
It's a shame. Couldn't a GoFundMe sent to alums raise 45k to save the Post in like 20 minutes?
While true and probably more like 100K, that just ignores the issue and that would be misplaced spending priorities. How can you tout a superior j school and at the same time not support a lab for training? Pony up Cutler Hall.
It’s not a lab paper; it’s an independent student newspaper. There’s a world of difference. This is history that plays an important role in the current dilemma.
It's editorially independent.

Do they pay the going rate for rent and utilities for their space in a campus buiding?
I don’t believe so. These are compromises that have been made over the years. If you go back and look at news stories in the 1960s and 70s you’ll see a lot of discussion on the status of The Post as an independent student paper and if the university should support it in any way and whether such support brings along with it any elements of control. It was a very hot topic for awhile.

My own teaching experience was at two journalism schools — Marshall and Murray State — that had lab papers, so this question of control was not an issue. As a rule, though, the faculty would stand by and support reasonable student decisions on journalistic issues. For instance, at MSU I personally took heat from both the president and the Board of Regents for supporting my student’s right not to reveal his sources on a story about a prostitution ring in Nashville involving MSU female students. I was also threatened by the Kentucky State Police. So, being a lab paper funded by a journalism school is not synonymous with being a house organ for the institution.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
Last Edited: 6/20/2021 9:41:44 AM by OhioCatFan
rpbobcat
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Posted: 6/20/2021 3:07 PM
There's a very well written "From The Editor's Desk" in The Post about this.

There's also another article that talks about Shively being used for some journalism classes.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 6/20/2021 3:22 PM
rpbobcat wrote:expand_more
There's a very well written "From The Editor's Desk" in The Post about this.

There's also another article that talks about Shively being used for some journalism classes.
https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2021/06/from-the-ed...

and the Shively article. OCF, how did professors like yourself teach before PowerPoint? :)
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 6/20/2021 7:18 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
There's a very well written "From The Editor's Desk" in The Post about this.

There's also another article that talks about Shively being used for some journalism classes.
https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2021/06/from-the-ed...

and the Shively article. OCF, how did professors like yourself teach before PowerPoint? :)
Some used quill pens and parchment, and the more technologically savvy used chalk! ;-)
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
rpbobcat
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Posted: 6/21/2021 6:28 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
Some used quill pens and parchment, and the more technologically savvy used chalk! ;-)
Then came the "overhead projector". :-)
Last Edited: 6/21/2021 6:29:08 AM by rpbobcat
giacomo
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Posted: 6/21/2021 3:30 PM
It’s not going away. There are enough successful alumns to make it work. I would also think a school named after E.W. Scripps would have an endowment? Trim some coin off Boals and Solich if you need to.
Last Edited: 6/21/2021 3:31:12 PM by giacomo
Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 6/22/2021 11:25 AM
It is pretty pathetic that they're talking about sustainability of a $45,000/year position. For starters, the notion of "sustainability" in academia is repellent, but in this case it's a university flat-out saying $45k for a key piece of the journalism school experience isn't worth it. It's a tiny cost to run a lab that enhances the learning of dozens of students in what is supposedly the most elite school at the university. If the administration questions the value of that, why even bother saying you're an educational institution? Just admit to being a for-profit diploma mill.
cc-cat
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Posted: 6/22/2021 1:36 PM
/\/\/\/\/\ - Well Said
cbus cat fan
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Posted: 6/23/2021 9:50 AM
To get to Alan's point this is an optics problem. You want to state that the university is getting on track after a forced exile of a university president you only recently hired, so you find a way to keep one of your legacy institutions going, funding the student newspaper who has forwarded the career of many well known journalists. Otherwise, you send a message that nothing is safe and this doesn't look good for any college within the university, especially the university's new golden goose, the highly touted rise of the medical school.

It wasn't too long ago departments had secretaries to manage their office. As late as the 1990s, the Political Science department had two secretaries, now there are none. This can lead to a many a logistics problem. We have too many high paid administrators, and not enough people to keep the basic machinery of the institution properly functioning.
Pataskala
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Posted: 6/23/2021 12:50 PM
We could see the demise of secretaries coming 30 years ago when PCs proliferated. Kids coming out of college (and even some of us older folks) did their own typing, so as the technology dinosaurs died off there became less need for someone to type for them. In my last pre-retirement job, even the head of the agency did his own typing. "Secretaries" really became "administrative assistants," or even paralegals, by focusing on filing documents with agencies and courts, setting up meetings, doing internal document tracking, etc.

In order to get young adults some real work skills, some in the Ohio legislature want to beef up educational funding for schools that teach a "trade." They limit their thinking to mechanical trades, but arguments can be made to broaden the view. In discussions regarding wage-and-hour law, some prominent journalists don't view their work as a "profession" but as a "trade," in order for lower-paid journalists to be eligible for overtime. Viewing journalism as a trade would be an argument for more funding from the State. Working at the Post equates to an apprenticeship.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

brucecuth
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Posted: 6/25/2021 10:19 AM
The Optimist
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Posted: 6/25/2021 11:13 AM
I'm skeptical the 45k salary was ever really in jeopardy. A-News is very good at stirring up controversy where there isn't one. Good for them getting those clicks.
I've seen crazier things happen.
Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 6/28/2021 9:24 AM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more
I'm skeptical the 45k salary was ever really in jeopardy. A-News is very good at stirring up controversy where there isn't one. Good for them getting those clicks.
Seems more accurate to say that the outcry caused by the Post and the A-News coverage led to the university rethinking their position and being forced to declare support. And that "support" is still pretty damn tepid considering they continue to demand a "sustainable" model. In other words, the university wants the Post to figure out how to pay for the support position that it needs to function - even as they put out a statement about the importance of the Post to journalism education. This is college as a business at its worst.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 6/28/2021 11:58 AM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more
I'm skeptical the 45k salary was ever really in jeopardy. A-News is very good at stirring up controversy where there isn't one. Good for them getting those clicks.
If it weren't for the ANews, we'd have little to know investigative journalism in this town.
Ted Thompson
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Posted: 9/17/2021 5:09 PM
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