On Tuesday, Colorado State University President Larry Penley sent an e-mail to the campus community confirming rumors that university officials had met with the editor and publisher of The Coloradoan, the Gannett paper in Fort Collins, Colo., to discuss a "potential strategic partnership." Here is the complete e-mail, sent to all faculty, staff and students at 5:52 p.m.:
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students of Colorado State University:
Based on a few questions from faculty and the many students who
stopped by my office today, I want to update you regarding inquiry
from the Coloradoan - a Gannett owned newspaper - relative to a
potential strategic partnership with the Collegian.
Today, ASCSU President Katie Gleeson and I met with Coloradoan
Publisher Christine Chin and Executive Editor Robert Moore to listen
to their ideas.
Late last year, Christine Chin called my office to set up an
appointment to discuss a potential collaboration, and based on the
university's strong relationship with the Coloradoan, we agreed to
hear what the newspaper organization could offer our students.
As a result of today's meeting, we have asked Gannett to submit a
formal proposal, and asked that they address how a strategic
partnership:
-Would enhance educational opportunities for student journalists;
-Would enhance professional opportunities for student journalists;
-Could enhance journalism faculty advisory participation;
-Could improve services to the larger student body.
Should the Coloradoan choose to move forward, we will make the
consideration of the proposal a public process whereby input from
students, faculty and staff will guide my advice to the Board of
Governors in making any decisions. Ultimately, the Board and I want
to seek opportunities to improve the student experience - including
educational and career opportunities - at Colorado State University.
People interested in commenting, can reach President Penley directly at Larry.Penley@colostate.edu.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Rocky Mountain Collegian Update
The director of student media at Colorado State University is preparing a proposal to keep the student newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, under student affairs after the university's president announced he was entertaining a proposal for a strategic partnership with Gannett.
"The president has asked for a proposal from Gannett," said Jeff Browne, director of student media at the Fort Collins, Colo. university. "He has not asked us for a proposal but we're going to give him one. We're going to present the president with an alternative to corporate ownership."
On Tuesday, Colorado State University President Larry Penley sent an email to the campus community confirming rumors that university officials had met with the editor and publisher of The Coloradoan, the local Gannett paper, earlier that day.
"As a result of today's meeting," Penley wrote, "we have asked Gannett to submit a
formal proposal, and asked that they address how a strategic
partnership:
-Would enhance educational opportunities for student journalists;
-Would enhance professional opportunities for student journalists;
-Could enhance journalism faculty advisory participation;
-Could improve services to the larger student body."
Browne said he plans to address these same points in his proposal. He is collecting letters of support from journalism educators, students and others concerned about the independence of student media.
"Even if people aren't familiar with our organization they can write letters explaining why an organization headed by journalism educators is a better fit than one headed by a private corporation and why student media as an educational experience is preferable to student media as a niche publication for corporate overlord experience."
Browne said students involved in media at Colorado State University are "very upset" about Gannett's overture.
Though rumors had been circling for some time, Browne was only notified about discussions between the university and Gannett officials on Tuesday morning when Bob Moore, editor in chief of The Coloradoan, called him as a matter of courtesy to let him know about the meeting later that day with Penley. Apparently, The Coloradoan had approached Penley with the idea of a partnership three months ago and the university president had discussed the matter with the university's Board of Governors in closed-session meetings.
Gannett already owns two student newspapers, FSView & Florida Flambeau, the twice-weekly student paper serving Florida State University, and Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida. In both cases, the local Gannett newspapers bought independently owned student publications. 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, Browne said.
The CSU Student Media Office is operated under the Division of Student Affairs.
Asked what he thought about Gannett getting into the student newspaper business, Brown remarked wryly, "I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for their stockholders to see their stock rise in value.... They are brilliant capitalists seeing an opportunity to acquire established brands in niche markets."
People who want to submit letters of support may write to:
Jeff Browne, Director of Student Media
LSC Box 13
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-8038
Jeff.Browne@colostate.edu
"The president has asked for a proposal from Gannett," said Jeff Browne, director of student media at the Fort Collins, Colo. university. "He has not asked us for a proposal but we're going to give him one. We're going to present the president with an alternative to corporate ownership."
On Tuesday, Colorado State University President Larry Penley sent an email to the campus community confirming rumors that university officials had met with the editor and publisher of The Coloradoan, the local Gannett paper, earlier that day.
"As a result of today's meeting," Penley wrote, "we have asked Gannett to submit a
formal proposal, and asked that they address how a strategic
partnership:
-Would enhance educational opportunities for student journalists;
-Would enhance professional opportunities for student journalists;
-Could enhance journalism faculty advisory participation;
-Could improve services to the larger student body."
Browne said he plans to address these same points in his proposal. He is collecting letters of support from journalism educators, students and others concerned about the independence of student media.
"Even if people aren't familiar with our organization they can write letters explaining why an organization headed by journalism educators is a better fit than one headed by a private corporation and why student media as an educational experience is preferable to student media as a niche publication for corporate overlord experience."
Browne said students involved in media at Colorado State University are "very upset" about Gannett's overture.
Though rumors had been circling for some time, Browne was only notified about discussions between the university and Gannett officials on Tuesday morning when Bob Moore, editor in chief of The Coloradoan, called him as a matter of courtesy to let him know about the meeting later that day with Penley. Apparently, The Coloradoan had approached Penley with the idea of a partnership three months ago and the university president had discussed the matter with the university's Board of Governors in closed-session meetings.
Gannett already owns two student newspapers, FSView & Florida Flambeau, the twice-weekly student paper serving Florida State University, and Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida. In both cases, the local Gannett newspapers bought independently owned student publications. 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, Browne said.
The CSU Student Media Office is operated under the Division of Student Affairs.
Asked what he thought about Gannett getting into the student newspaper business, Brown remarked wryly, "I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for their stockholders to see their stock rise in value.... They are brilliant capitalists seeing an opportunity to acquire established brands in niche markets."
People who want to submit letters of support may write to:
Jeff Browne, Director of Student Media
LSC Box 13
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-8038
Jeff.Browne@colostate.edu
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Gannett eyes yet another student newspaper
The publisher and editor of The Coloradoan, a Gannett paper in Fort Collins, Colo., met Tuesday with Colorado State University officials to discuss a "strategic partnership" to run the student newspaper, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The news comes just five months after The Rocky Mountain Collegian made national headlines for running an editorial that said "Taser This.... Fuck Bush." Editor-in-Chief J. David McSwane was reprimanded but not fired for his actions.
"This is not happening in a vacuum," Mike Hiestand, an attorney for the Student Press Law Center told The Rocky Mountain Collegian. "This is happening after a very public, pretty nasty fight" between university officials and McSwane.
McSwane asked to attend the meeting between university and Coloradoan officials, but he and Collegian reporters were denied access, according to the Collegian article.
Gannett already owns two student newspapers, FSView & Florida Flambeau, the twice-weekly student paper serving Florida State University, and Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida. (See articles on the 2006 sale of FSView & Florida Flambeau in The New York Times and InsideHigherEd.com.)
The listserv of College Media Advisers, a national organization a campus newspaper advisers and business managers, was abuzz with news of the Gannett-Colorado State University meeting.
"This takes privatization in a whole new direction and threatens the very core of student press freedom on that campus," wrote Kathy Lawrence, director of student media at the University of Texas-Austin, and a former CMA president. "Everyone who cares about an independent student press needs to sound the alarm loudly."
The news of Gannett's interest in The Rocky Mountain Collegian comes at a time when many professional newspaper publishers are looking for ways to attract a younger readership. Some are trying to lure college students with special regional Web sites aimed at college students like The Loop in Rochester, NY, SwoCol in Southwestern Ohio and BigLickU in Roanoke, Virginia.
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