East Carolina fires student media adviser after paper ran photos of streaker

Paul's an old friend, and this is a damn shame:

http://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=2311

Here's the web version of the original story:

http://theeastcarolinian.com/?p=2034

And also a TV report that includes a photo of the original print edition:

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/228727/295/Streaker-shown-in-the-buff-on-school-papers-front-page

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

You have to love the f*** the world student newspaper types who don't consider the consequences of their actions.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Paul is a great guy and a great mentor to young journalists (I'm biased in that regard). I disagree with the editor's choice, but the ECU newspaper was well within their rights to publish that photo.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

The thing is, whether the photo was appropriate or not is a moot point.

Legally, the adviser would not have been allowed to stop its publication even if he had known about it ahead of time.

College administrators often have an exceedingly narrow perspective, and probably viewed the publication of that photo as the end of their little world rather than an amusing if tasteless event that would be forgotten about in a few days.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Sounds like they made Paul a scapegoat. Not exactly fair.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Guess I'll be the contrarian here ...

The guy shoulda been canned.
Sorry.

Sometimes these "mentors" in the ivory towers fail to see the real world.
What was the point of running the photo, besides exercising that first amendment right to free speech?
Free Speech!!!! Ok. And aside from that, the point was what??
They were within their rights, but what purpose did it serve? Honestly?
Sometimes these guys need to teach students a little real-world restraint. And use some common sense. Save the free speech fights for it it matters. Not God Damn 70 pt dong shots on Pg. 1!
The students could have run that photo without an adviser. That being case what's the point of being an adviser... It should be to ask, why? As in why do you want to run this.
At some point in college you have to become an adult and act like a pro. That's part of the advising students.

I don't fault ECU officials for this one. Your guy may be a good adviser and a great mentor, but he executed poor judgement on this on.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

What should an adviser do? I'd say raise hell if students try to pull this crap. If someone's job is on the line (and the adviser should have known his was because other advisers have been fired for less), you don't let some crusading moron ruin your livelihood.

The editors learned a crappy lesson on free speech in that just because you can print something, it doesn't mean there isn't any consequences.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

OK, I read the firing story and didn't see any reference to whether the adviser knew beforehand about the photo. If he knew beforehand, he could have advised against running the photo, but he couldn't order it pulled. Either way, he's being scapegoated, and I would think a good EEOC lawyer could make a strong case.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Romanesko's take, which includes some more detail via email from Isom:

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/01/05/adviser-fired-after-college-paper-runs-photos-of-streaker/

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Did Isom advise the students to not run the photo? If he didn't, then he failed to properly do his job. It doesn't matter what the students did.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

Out of curiosity, did you go to college at a public school? A religious one? A private one? Because it matters a great deal and I think you may have a skewed view of the legal and professional role of an adviser.

The case law is very settled. Courts have ruled time and time again that if you attempt prior restraint for a student-run media outlet at a public university, IT IS A VIOLATION OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT. It's not a matter of opinion. That is a fact and there is settled case law to demonstrate it.

An adviser at a public university who is following both the law and his own professional boundaries is not involved in the day-to-day decision-making at a student media outlet. Now, he or she can sit down with the editor after the paper has run and say, "Hmmm...let's talk about whether this perhaps was not the greatest idea in the world." But he can't do more, legally or ethically.

Now, I've had friends at other schools (usually religious ones) where the adviser is the de-facto editor, and the publication is handled more in terms of a workshop or class. That's fine, but that's very different in a legal sense from student-run media.

 

Re: East Carolina fires student media advisor after paper ran photos of streaker

I'm sure he offered his opinion if he was asked. But I'm not sure that he was.