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

[Steak Snabler]

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

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

Paul Isom said he was terminated Wednesday in what he believes is a response to student editors’ decision to run the photo. Isom said he returned to his office shortly after 11 a.m. to find two unexpected guests – his direct supervisor, Director of Marketing and Communications Chris Stansbury, and a representative from human resources.

He said they initially gave him four hours to clean out his office and leave campus.

...

On Nov. 8, the newspaper published a full-frontal photo of a streaker who ran onto the field during that weekend’s home football game. The decision prompted outcry from some readers and from university administrators who said it was “in very poor taste.”

...

Isom said he was told a “team of administrators” was involved in the decision to fire him and that it was approved by the university’s legal counsel, but that the ultimate decision came from Stansbury.

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

 

[Stitch]

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.

 

[Bamadog]

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.

 

[black dude with pompano]

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.

 

[Tarheel316]

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

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

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

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.

 

[Stitch]

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.

 

[lone star scribe]

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.

 

[Steak Snabler]

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/

 

[Stitch]

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.

 

[black dude with pompano]

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.

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.

 

[black dude with pompano]

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.

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

 

[LongTimeListener]

He can always work at Deadspin.

 

[jr/shotglass]

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.

Something's totally off-kilter here. If what you're saying is fact, the adviser was canned for following the law. But it can't be that simple. If those are the facts of this situation, somebody had to address it before these actions were followed through upon.

 

[zufer]

This account from a student indicates that the advisor knew in advance but may not have recognized the consequences:
http://melinamerica.com/2011/11/14/the-balls-are-in-your-court-east-carolinian/

"The three girls – editor in chief, managing editor and news editor [no glass ceiling here folks] – who made the decision to publish the images unedited did so after consulting their faculty advisor. They had originally narrowed the choice to blurring, pixelation or a solid box, but after approaching their advisor, he questioned if they needed to do anything. He then assured the girls he would back their decision should admin disapprove. But unfortunately upon publication, the advisor didn’t standby his word and the girls took the flak."

 

[Stitch]

Isom's attitude is a bit self-righteous. If you don't think it's a good idea to run the photo, say so. It's not a First Amendment issue to advise.

If I was not willing to stand up for a First Amendment issue, then I wouldn’t have been advising them the way that I was advising them. I would have told them, ‘Yeah, don’t run any controversial pictures, don’t make anybody mad.

If he didn't advise against running the photos, he was derelict in his duties. An adviser's job is not to give students tools and then get out of the way, as he wrote on his Facebook page. He needs to give students practical advice.

 

[nmmetsfan]

Holy ****. Did anyone read the column linked in the Romenesko piece? Sounds like the staff at the student newspaper needs a lesson in public decency. I'm not sure Isom should have been fired, and I'm certainly not advocating censorship. But the editor(s) of that publication need to learn about the responsibility that comes with wielding the power of the press. They also need to learn that shock journalism can damage credibility just as fast as running something that's blatantly false.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

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.

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.

Small state school with a small paper.
Typically, anything controversial the editor or someone would first check with an advisor. If for no other reason than to rule out potential libel issues.
I'm guessing - just guessing - Isom had advance notice to the photo (ahem) package.

I agree with Stitch, he failed to do his job.

 

[lesboulez]

small state school?

smaller than UNC and N.C. State? yes. small? not really.

27,000+ students...

 

[Big Circus]

I think Evil was referring to his school, not ECU.